Financial Development and Subnational Export Performance: Evidence from the Indian States

The present study investigates the relationship between export performance and the level of financial development for 30 Indian states and union territories (UTs) from 2011–12 to 2020–21. The study first ranks the states and UTs on the parameters of financial development and physical infrastructure using the robust principal component analysis method. By applying the instrumental variable fixed effects panel data technique, the study observes that the level of financial development has a significant positive impact on the export performance of the states. The study also finds a positive effect of the availability of physical infrastructure, quality of governance and fiscal position on states’ export performance but does not observe a significant role of political stability in this context. The results suggest that export growth in the economically laggard and Himalayan states can come through policy interventions to improve financial development. In contrast, landlocked states need better physical infrastructure to facilitate easier production and transportation of export goods. The study lends new perspectives to the nascent literature on inter-regional disparities in India’s export performance and is expected to provide insights into improving the sub-national export performance of other developing countries as well. JEL Codes: F14, F36, F4