Trump and Modi are focusing on manufacturing to boost their economies. Historical trends suggest Trump’s approach is likely to fail. India is hindered by rigid labour laws and excessive holidays.
Donald Trump and Narendra Modi both seek to make their countries great by subsidising and investing heavily in manufacturing to increase ‘desirable jobs’. Economic history suggests that Trump will fail. Modi has a chance, which will probably go abegging.
In high-income countries like the US, the share of manufacturing jobs has declined for decades. Americans complain that millions of manufacturing jobs have been offshored to China, which used manufacturing to become the fastest-growing country in history. Trump seeks job reshoring to ‘Make America Great Again’.
