Is There any Relation between Human Development and Economic Growth?: Evidence from Indian States

This paper tries to explore the nexus between human development and economic growth in India. The important issue for policy purposes is how a State may move from higher economic growth to higher human development or vice versa. The paper analyzes the nexus between human development and economic growth indicators for 26 Indian States for the time period of 1981, 1991 and 2001. The results suggest strong two-way relation between economic growth and human development. It is seen that Indian States generally cannot move from the category of lopsided economic growth to virtuous cycle of development. Therefore, government should not give higher priority to economic growth at the cost of human development and leave the latter to fend for itself.