What changes are occurring at the macro and the sectoral levels, how the labour market changes are taking place and what impactis felt on the low income households are some of the questions that the present volume focuses on. It begins by examining the sectoral composition of growth, revisiting the issues related to industry-services balance, and also brings out the spatial dimension of growth. On the one hand the industry does not seem to have played a major role in the context of employment generation as imported technology is by and large capital intensive in nature. On the other hand, the services-led growth is seen to have reduced the pace of poverty reduction. Given the services-led growth the possible impact of trade in services on employment both in the formal and informal sectors have been worked out, indicating limited positive spill-over effects. The labour market outcomes are brought out with great details suggesting that rapid economic growth in India could not result in productive employment generation on a large scale. The gender dimensions of employment are brought out to verify if reduction in labour market inequality can result in improving the position of women in other spheres encompassing the decision making process both within the household and outside the household. Issues relating to urbanisation and rural-urban migration are also covered to understand the dynamics of urban poverty and to bring out the challenges of population transfer given the spatial concentration of growth. The job search practices pursued by the low income households are often pursued in terms of informal networks. What problems are associated with such mechanisms in experiencing improvements in wellbeing levels are covered in the present volume. On the whole, the volume offers an explanation of limited poverty reduction in a situation of rapid economic growth on the basis of an inter-disciplinary framework though efforts are being made to keep the methodology quantitatively rigorous. "

The book explores, for India and other developing countries, the potential role the organized manufacturing sector could play as an engine of growth. Alongside growth, can this sector generate adequate employment opportunities to facilitate the transfer of labour from the agriculture sector? The book identifies the major constraints that result in limited demand for labour in the organised manufacturing sector. Beyond technological aspects, skill shortage is an important factor, resulting in sluggish labour absorption. Further, the labour market laws are not necessarily the root cause of sluggish employment growth in the organised manufacturing sector. The development of technologies that are appropriate for labour surplus countries like India is instrumental to employment creation. Though innovation is generally assumed to be capital-intensive in nature, the book argues that innovation nevertheless has a positive effect on employment in absolute terms. Lastly, the main policy issues are highlighted in terms of the priority that should be assigned to industries which can contribute to employment growth and skill formation for improving the employability of the available labour force, and to which innovations should be pursued, with a specific focus on pro-poor growth objectives.

What changes are occurring at the macro and the sectoral levels, how the labour market changes are taking place and what impact is felt on the low income households are some of the questions that the present volume focuses on. It begins by examining the sectoral composition of growth, revisiting the issues related to industry-services balance, and also brings out the spatial dimension of growth. On the one hand the industry does not seem to have played a major role in the context of employment generation as imported technology is by and large capital intensive in nature. On the other hand, the services-led growth is seen to have reduced the pace of poverty reduction. Given the services-led growth the possible impact of trade in services on employment both in the formal and informal sectors have been worked out, indicating limited positive spill-over effects. The labour market outcomes are brought out with great details suggesting that rapid economic growth in India could not result in productive employment generation on a large scale. The gender dimensions of employment are brought out to verify if reduction in labour market inequality can result in improving the position of women in other spheres encompassing the decision making process both within the household and outside the household. Issues relating to urbanisation and rural-urban migration are also covered to understand the dynamics of urban poverty and to bring out the challenges of population transfer given the spatial concentration of growth. The job search practices pursued by the low income households are often pursued in terms of informal networks. What problems are associated with such mechanisms in experiencing improvements in wellbeing levels are covered in the present volume. On the whole, the volume offers an explanation of limited poverty reduction in a situation of rapid economic growth on the basis of an inter-disciplinary framework though efforts are being made to keep the methodology quantitatively rigorous.

This book uses the state-level panel data to identify some of the important correlates of employment growth/elasticity and indicators of quality-employment. To do so, it considers a wide spectrum of variables including physical, financial and social infrastructure specific indicators and government spending in certain key areas. In addition to the aggregate employment, the book also comprises analysis of different sectors, regions and gender categories. Based on the results, it identifies crucial determinants which bear important policy implications. The book presents evidence showcasing how the overall investment climate and an effective state, as envisaged in terms of increased social expenditure, are instrumental to improvements in employment elasticity. The findings also reinforce the role of industry-led growth and agglomeration economies in contributing to employment growth. Besides, based on the unit-level data from the periodic labour force surveys, the book tries to answer a wide range of questions such as, what restricts a person from getting absorbed in a high productivity activity; within a given sector why one is in a casual or self-employed job and not in regular wage job; are casual wage jobs in the informal sector different from those in the formal sector; and why the wage variations exist across sectors and activities. The three rounds of periodic labour force surveys reflect on certain individual and household characteristics; in particular, the role of education is seen to be crucial in determining the occupational choice and the wage rate. Finally, the book focuses on the enterprise-level data and identifies the types of units which are vulnerable within the unorganized sector. It assesses the links of the unorganized sector units with their organised sector counterpart and identifies the factors which reduce the economic viability of the units.

Urbanisation in the literature of development economics is expected to bring in a spectrum of social and economic transformations. With this framework in mind, this book focuses on various aspects of urbanisation in India and its impact on socio-economic variables. The study has been conducted at various levels of disaggregation such as state, district and city and the data is sourced from population census, NSSO's surveys on employment-unemployment schemes and results and consumption expenditure, and primary surveys on slum households conducted by the author. Urbanisation is studied as a process particular to developing countries, contextualising it within the study of India. While this brings about gradual changes contributing to overall growth, the pace is remarkably slow. It brings to the forefront the resilience of the social system that can be mitigated through significant interventions into some of the economic variables. Various policy implications of the evidence based research are discussed at the end of each chapter.

This book assesses the capacity of the rural populace in terms of their ability to perceive a change in climatic variables and, if so, how they react to these changes in order to minimize the adverse effect of climate change. It evaluates the role of education and exposure to change in physiological variables like temperature, precipitation, etc., in forming the right perception of climate change. While analysing livelihood diversification as a strategy to cope with climate change concerns across geography (districts), caste, education and the primary occupation of the households, the book also considers factors affecting diversification. One important aspect of well-being is consumption; thus, by focusing on consumption changes over time and relating it to livelihood diversification, the book makes an in-depth analysis of the coping mechanisms. Diversification adopted in the face of compulsion and in a situation of stagnancy may result in a range of low productivity activities, whereas diversification as an attempt to explore newer pathways in a vibrant context to reduce income risks and smooth consumption can be highly beneficial. The book, thus, focuses on job profile and occupational diversification of the sample households, the extent of instability in occupations and the distribution of households in terms of consumption pattern, the inter-temporal changes in it and the determinants. The book is useful for researchers, students in environmental studies, policy-makers, NGOs and also the common reader who wants to understand climate change, its effects on livelihoods and ways to overcome the shocks. It reflects on effective policies which can create awareness and empower people to explore opportunities for livelihood creation so that the overall is sustained if not improved.

This volume analyses occupation, earning, and standard of living of the low income households from slum clusters in Delhi, and lays emphasis on strategies and efforts initiated by the slum dwellers to cope with uncertainties they face. The role of informal institutions or networks in accessing information pertaining to the urban labour market, and in experiencing an upward mobility, constitutes an important dimension of the analysis. Transfer of resources - monestary and/or non-monetary - across individuals/households, which can be either based on altruistic behaviour or motivated by the principle of exchange (or strategic exchange) takes the central position in the analysis. This helps derive the domain of public policy, which would not be in conflict with the existing institutions, and would emerge as supportive measures instead of appearing as direct interventions. Interspatial variations in economic activities performed in the city and their impact on the labour market in terms of physical segmentation, constitute the other major aspect that the study focuses on. Differences in occupational choices, incomes and consumption expenditure across seems in the broad context of intra-household inequality are dealt with. Finally, it reviews the past and ongoing programmes relating to urban poverty, and compares them with the policy directives following from the present study.