Using Counterfactuals to Assess the Economic Impact of Colonial Rule in India
To fully assess the economic impact of British rule on India, a counterfactual analysis is necessary. This approach requires imagining an alternate history: what would India's economic trajectory have been if it had not been colonized? This hypothetical scenario of an independent India serves as a 'control' or baseline for comparison against the actual historical outcome. A similar method involves using West Germany as a counterfactual to evaluate the effects of the planned economy in East Germany. The main difficulty lies in identifying a valid and convincing counterfactual for India's unique historical circumstances.
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