Learning Region and Performance of Pharmaceutical Industry: Evidence from Two Indian States

In the extent literature, availability of critical regional and technology-based factors have been recognized as the constituents of learning region which in turn lead to the rising performance of enterprises located in the region. These regional factors subsume sub-national policies, vertical industries, knowledge institution, skill, demand and infrastructural factors. Pharmaceutical industry is one of the knowledge-intensive industries, which is theoretically believed to be performed better in a learning region. The present study takes into account two Indian states namely, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh and describes the status of pharmaceutical industry in the light of learning region. The descriptive explanation based on time series data for the last two decades revealed that the rising trends of pharmaceutical industry in the state of Himachal Pradesh, sourced by the conducive policy supports, rising share of chemical industry, rising enrolements in higher education and availability of good infrastructure. On the other hand, despite encompassing considerable infrastructure, skilled labour, knowledge and demand, Gujarat has reported constant or marginally declining trends of pharmaceutical industry, in terms of number of units, output and employment during last decade.