ABSTRACT
Two theoretical perspectives within the political sciences have inspired the contemporary debate on the role of the state in economic development in developing countries and particularly India: neo-liberal perspective and neo-statist perspective. The neo-liberal perspective explains the current wave of rapid economic growth as the result of the changes in the Government of India's policies after 1991. The dominant castes had dominated the Congress after the independence in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Likewise, the constituents of human development index as a symbol of the ability of the States to deliver services displays a resemblance before the 1990s. Therefore, both states had comparable initial situations; however, both states represent two completely different development trajectories after the 1990s that make them compelling cases for comparison. The chapter shows that Andhra Pradesh and Bihar had a similar net state domestic product in the 1980s. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
