ABSTRACT
On the basis of reconstructed time series of paper production and its employment and capital stock for 1914–46, this chapter participates in four unfinished debates on the narratives of India’s large-scale industries in the inter-war period. On the question of ownership and control, I argue that a significant amount of indigenous capital (as also a number of domestic capitalists) was involved in this industry during the 1920s. Second, using firm-level data, Lokanathan examines the question of returns to scale among Indian paper mills although he admits that a firm-level analysis suffers from several drawbacks. This chapter measures returns to scale on the basis of industry-level data. It also measures the output elasticities of labour and capital, technical progress and total factor productivity (TFP). Third, this chapter largely confirms the hypothesis of Clark and Wolcott on India’s low labour productivity. Lastly, it analyses war effects on Bengal’s papermaking. Though paper is never used as war materials, I argue that it was extensively used in its peripheral jobs so that paper scarcity cropped up in many countries during the war periods.
