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I know people who work as "fixers" specializing in navigating such government restrictions and bureaucracy for local and foreign companies in India. It is more

by shas3 10y ago

I know people who work as "fixers" specializing in navigating such government restrictions and bureaucracy for local and foreign companies in India. It is more likely that the real reason for Apple's rejection is the whim of some high level bureaucrat ("IAS officer"). It may not even be corruption, even righteous bureaucrats are often stupid. The amount of red-tape in India is astounding.

rahulsidhu 10y ago
On the contrary, my guess would be that this decision was taken at the highest political levels, and I applaud this decision. I read that the govt. set up a small committee of bureaucrats which recommended a waiver and I was hoping for this outcome. This would hopefully incentivise Apple to move at-least some of their assembly to Foxconn India. We need all the jobs and economic activity we can get.
- eru 10y ago
  I don't know, forced Import Substitution Industrialization (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import_substitution_industrialization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import_substitution_industrial...) hasn't worked very well around the world so far.
  - tarikjn 10y ago
    Worthy quote from that article: "While import substitution policies might create jobs in the short run, as domestic producers replace foreign producers, economics theory shows that in the long run output and growth will be lower than it would otherwise have been. This is because import substitution denies the country the benefits to be gained from specialisation and foreign imports. The law of comparative advantage shows how countries will gain from trade. Moreover, protectionism leads to dynamic inefficiency: Domestic producers have no incentive from foreign competitors to reduce costs or improve products. Import substitution can impede growth through poor allocation of resources, and its effect on exchange rates harms exports."
    - likeclockwork 10y ago
      I'm not sure how that would apply to veblen goods when the status they confer is tied up in actually not being produced locally.
      - eru 10y ago
        Interesting point. I wonder how much of an economic impact these goods have? (Ie if they exist, do they matter?)

by shas3 10y ago

rahulsidhu 10y ago

On the contrary, my guess would be that this decision was taken at the highest political levels, and I applaud this decision. I read that the govt. set up a small committee of bureaucrats which recommended a waiver and I was hoping for this outcome. This would hopefully incentivise Apple to move at-least some of their assembly to Foxconn India. We need all the jobs and economic activity we can get.

eru 10y ago
I don't know, forced Import Substitution Industrialization (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import_substitution_industrialization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import_substitution_industrial...) hasn't worked very well around the world so far.
- tarikjn 10y ago
  Worthy quote from that article: "While import substitution policies might create jobs in the short run, as domestic producers replace foreign producers, economics theory shows that in the long run output and growth will be lower than it would otherwise have been. This is because import substitution denies the country the benefits to be gained from specialisation and foreign imports. The law of comparative advantage shows how countries will gain from trade. Moreover, protectionism leads to dynamic inefficiency: Domestic producers have no incentive from foreign competitors to reduce costs or improve products. Import substitution can impede growth through poor allocation of resources, and its effect on exchange rates harms exports."
  - likeclockwork 10y ago
    I'm not sure how that would apply to veblen goods when the status they confer is tied up in actually not being produced locally.
    - eru 10y ago
      Interesting point. I wonder how much of an economic impact these goods have? (Ie if they exist, do they matter?)