Reforms and Economic Transformation in India, edited by Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya and published in 2012, is the second volume in a series on Studies in Indian Economic Policies that aims to understand how the new policies adopted since 1991 changed the economic landscape of India. While the first book addressed the role of these policies in poverty reduction, this second volume evaluates their contribution towards structural transformation across sectors and enterprises, and social transformation through income convergence and entrepreneurship across social groups.

Bhagwati and Panagariya begin by setting the historical context: the pre-reform era characterized by the License-Permit-Quota Raj, which stifled economic growth and innovation. They then describe the pivotal moment of 1991, when India, facing a severe balance-of-payments crisis, initiated a series of liberalization reforms. These reforms marked a departure from the restrictive socialist policies and introduced market-oriented changes that opened up the economy to global trade and investment.

Other authors examine the impact of these reforms on various sectors of the economy. For instance, Rana Hasan and Robert L. Jandoc write about labor regulations and the distribution of firms, and Viktoria Hnatkovska and Amartya Lahiri explore the narrowing inequality across castes in different states after liberalization.

The authors discuss the necessity of ongoing reforms to address persistent challenges such as labor market rigidities, infrastructural deficits, and regulatory inefficiencies. They advocate continued policy innovation to sustain growth and ensure the benefits of economic transformation reach a broader segment of the population.