Abstract:
An important requirement for the analysis of trade flows in relation
to domestic industrial structure is the availability of a database covering
information on trade flows, industry and firm characteristics. Such a
database, as yet, does not exist in India. Thus, one is left to opt for the
second best solution of compiling data from different sources to produce
a harmonised database. This paper is an attempt to provide guidance in
that direction. It raises certain relevant research issues on international
trade in relation to domestic industrial structure, attempts a critical
assessment of various available data sources for empirical analysis and
highlights the advantages of choosing certain specific sources: (i)
publications of the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and
Statistics (DGCI&S) which provide data on India’s foreign trade, (ii)
Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), which provides data on industry
characteristics, and (iii) the electronic data base ‘Prowess’, which
provides data on firm characteristics. Following this, the data on trade
flows, industry and firm characteristics are sought to be harmonised.
First, the DGCI&S data are matched with 3-digit level National Industrial
Classification (NIC) in the ASI, using the concordance table prepared
by Debroy and Santhanam (1993). Second, we have constructed a
concordance table for selected manufacturing sectors wherein the 3-digit
items of NIC are matched with the industry categories in Prowess. Its
appropriateness is evaluated by comparing data on value of output and
total emoluments to employees as reported in ASI with that in Prowess.
By and large, it appears that our concordance table is consistent and
effective.
