INDO - GERMAN ECONOMIC COOPERATION:
SOME BASIC ASPECTS
Michael von Hauff*
I. Introduction
Bilateral economic relations between countries with different levels of
development evolve on very different planes. In the field of economics
scarcely any attempt has been made to explore this context extensively.
The same holds true for the Indo - German relations. There can be no
dispute as to the tremendous differences between the two countries in
terms of economic thrust and potential. Germany is one of the highly
industrialized nations with a high average standard of living of its
citizens, a relatively balanced economic structure and a strong export-
orientation. India, on the contrary, belongs to a group of developing
countries that represent an extremely heterogeneous economic structure,
where large sections of population live in dire poverty; besides, the
country is presently undergoing a transformation process from a kind of
socialist or planned economy to an economic system with greater room
for the interplay of forces of market. Furthermore, India's economic
development is loaded down with vast domestic and foreign debts.
In the light of these facts we can learn to appreciate that for India
bilateral as well as multilateral economic relations and economic agree
ments are of immense value. However, the central thesis of the following
discussion aims to critically examine this position. It states that bilateral
and multilateral economic relations do not necessarily imply positive
development impulses. This view gives rise to three questions:
* The author is Professor of Economics (Economic Policy and Development
Economics) at the University of Kaiserslautern
Address: University Kaiserslautern, Gottlieb-Daimler-Strasse, 67663
Kaiserslautern. Phone: (0631) 205-3764
