China and India in the Global Economy

The purpose of this overview paper is to present the economic growth in China and India over the last three decades with a specific focus on the integration of these countries into the global economy. In the first part, we briefly review the long-run process of growth and institutional change, emphasizing the reforms leading to the ‘‘opening’’ of the two economies. Then, we focus on key structural features and compare the recent development processes of the two countries. At the end, there are some hints about certain persisting imbalances and the sustainability of the growth processes.