Political regime persistence and economic growth in Odisha: An empirical assessment of the Naveen Patnaik rule

We analyse the economic growth performance of Odisha, an Indian state, for the period 1980-2013 and examine the dynamic growth path of the state vis-a-vis the state's own recent history and that of the national economy and other major states. Our structural break analysis reveals that the state has registered an upward shift in its economic growth in the year 2003, after which the state has been doing significantly well; notching up an average annual growth rate of about 8 per cent. When compared to the national economy as well as other major states in a difference-in-differences regression analysis, we find a statistically significant positive differential trend break in Odisha's growth rate since 2003. The Naveen Patnaik government has been in power since 2000 to date, and this period has coincided with impressive economic growth of the state which potentially explains to great extent as to why it has been voted to power for four consecutive terms.