Posted Content•
Informal Sector in India: A Review
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a complementary relationship between formal and informal manufacturing to solve the problems like unemployment, low productivity and less capital intensity in the informal sector, which is a desirable need.
Abstract: Improving the linkage between formal and informal manufacturing is a desirable need to develop a complementary relationship to solve the problems like unemployment, low productivity and less capital intensity in the informal sector.
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01 Jan 2014
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the lived worlds and educational experiences of adolescent girls living in poverty in North India and explored the impact of poverty and gender on educational aspirations, access, mobility, and individual freedom.
Abstract: This qualitative dissertation explored the lived worlds and educational experiences of adolescent girls living in poverty in North India. Class, caste, gender, and regionally-based inequalities result in striking disparities leading to restricted, gendered opportunities and individual freedoms. The purpose of this ethnographic study was an in-depth exploration of the lives of 20 girls living in poverty, and how their own educational futures were impacted by educational policy and practices. Illustrative case studies were used to explore the broader question of educational access. In keeping with Article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the primary focus of this study was to give voice to the girls by utilizing interviews, daily journals written by the girls, and intense researcher immersion in their lives. Issues of critical reflexivity, positionality, and translation were addressed within a methodological framework shaped by the works of Clifford Geertz and Ruth Behar. Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum’s work on Human Capabilities provided the theoretical framework for this study. The environment of poverty, shaped by parental education, occupation, health, the absence of reliable social services, as well as the limits placed on girlhood within the patrifocal family structure, posed significant barriers to educational access and success. The impact of poverty and gender on educational aspirations, access, mobility, and individual freedom was explored in the context of agency, resilience, and determination as the girls negotiated obstacles to their education such as: limited access to quality education; heavy reliance on exams and tutoring; vulnerabilities associated with multi-dimensional poverty; and a culture of silence and compliance that limited their capability and freedom to achieve their aspirations.
16 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that the perceived vulnerability reduced product aversion among the illness group and insurers should also consider alternate segmentation patterns albeit the present socio-demographic pattern, as the health risk experience differs among individuals.
Abstract: A vast majority of the population in the developing economies remains uninsured. Moreover, the informal sector that employs a larger section of the society is untouched by any of the government scheme. In this study, we use health belief model to examine the factors that induce willingness to buy health insurance among the illness and the non-illness group. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,339 participants above 20 years of age of which 351 had contracted illness in the past and 988 had not. Data was collected using questionnaire from four highly populated districts in India. The questionnaire was developed based on the constructs of health belief model. The data was statistically analysed. Kendall’s Tau-b correlation technique was used to explore the relationship between perceived vulnerability and product aversion. Logistic regression was used to find out the odds at which each independent variable, categorised based on the health belief model, contributes to willingness to buy. The model was able to predict 15% of the variance for willingness-to-buy among the illness and 27% among the nonillness groups. Findings suggest that the perceived vulnerability reduced product aversion among the illness group. Mere presence of primary and super-specialty hospitals was not sufficient for the illness group to subscribe for health insurance. Income perceptions emerged as a significant predictor among the illness group. Presence of well-established hospital, income perceptions, and subjective norms were significant predictors among the non-illness group. The growth of the health insurance industry largely depends upon the presence of well-established hospitals. In the absence of adequate healthcare facilities, attempts by the insurers to promote insurance covers will become futile. Insurers should also consider alternate segmentation patterns albeit the present socio-demographic pattern, as the health risk experience differs among individuals.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors examined the empirical relationship between self-employment and poverty in 56 developing countries from 1995 to 2019 using a dynamic two-step system GMM approach, and found that the poverty-reducing effects of self employment differed based on poverty measure and threshold, and the magnitude of the impact is largest when poverty is measured at $1.90 a day as against $3.20 and $5.50 a day.
Abstract: PurposeWith self-employment providing earning opportunities to many working poor in developing countries, the study examines its role in alleviating poverty.Design/methodology/approachA five-year average of 56 developing countries from 1995–2019 is used. The empirical analysis is based on the dynamic two-step system GMM approach. While poverty is measured in terms of incidence, depth and severity; self-employment is used in three forms – total, male and female.FindingsIn line with the theoretical prediction, evidence suggests that self-employment in developing countries reduces poverty, albeit smaller magnitude. However, the poverty-reducing effects of self-employment differed based on poverty measure and threshold. The poverty-reducing effects are more prominent in poverty severity than incidence and intensity, and the magnitude of the impact is largest when poverty is measured at $1.90 a day as against $3.20 and $5.50 a day. Finally, the poverty-reducing effects of female self-employment are lower than their counterparts.Practical implicationsFirst, poverty-mitigating strategies in developing countries are advised to recognise self-employment as an essential tool to alleviate poverty. Consequently, alongside supporting the existing self-employed, policy focus should be on creating more and better self-employment opportunities for the poor. Second, rather than using generic measures to mitigate poverty, interventions specific to poverty measures and thresholds might ensure the maximum impact of such interventions. Third, gender-specific rather than gender-neutral labour market policies in addressing poverty are advised.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to examine the empirical relationship between self-employment and poverty. As such, it makes novel contributions to both labour and development economics.
5 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The term unorganized sector has been defined as those areas which has no proper means and ways of doing works in a systematic way or in organized way as discussed by the authors, which includes small and marginal farmers, landless agricultural laborers, share croppers, fishermen, and those engaged in animal husbandry, beedi rolling, labeling packing, building and construction workers, leather worker, weavers, workers in bricks kilns and stone quarries, saw mills and oil mills etc.
Abstract: India’s construction industry is large and visible, engaging 3.2 crore workers nationwide. For most of these workers, the construction industry is their “principal” source of employment. .Thus the construction workers come under the unorganized sector. The term unorganized sector has been defined as those areas which has no proper means and ways of doing works in a systematic way or in organized way. The unorganized sector workers suffer from the cycle of excessive seasonal employment; there is no formal employer and employee relationship; because there is also lack of social security and protection. Unorganized industry workers in India include:- small and marginal farmers, landless agricultural laborers, share croppers, fishermen, and those engaged in animal husbandry, beedi rolling, labeling packing, building and construction workers, leather worker, weavers, workers in bricks kilns and stone quarries, workers in saw mills and oil mills etc. and so on. Construction is the sector which has registered a large increased in employment in the post reform decade. In construction, an estimated 10.7 million construction workers, accounting for 83 per cent of all construction workers in India in that year, were employed through contractors and did not receive minimum employment protection and benefits whatsoever
1 citations
TL;DR: In this article , the authors examined the poverty-reducing effects of vulnerable employment in 65 developing countries from 1995 to 2019 and found that vulnerable employment reduces poverty marginally and has no effect on poverty at a higher threshold.
1 citations
References
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed the trends in growth and efficiency in the utilisation of resources in the Indian manufacturing industry before and after the introduction of economic reforms and found that both the organised and unorganised sectors in Gujarat seemed to be doing better than the all-India average in terms of growth of value added.
Abstract: This paper analyses the trends in growth and efficiency in the utilisation of resources in the Indian manufacturing industry before and after the introduction of economic reforms. It uses a comparative analysis of all-India figures with Gujarat, one of the most industrially developed states of the country. The study shows that both the organised and unorganised sectors in Gujarat seemed to be doing better than the all-India average in terms of growth of value added. Growth in the manufacturing sector in Gujarat was also more efficient than average all-India growth after the reforms were introduced. Gujarat's strategy of physical infrastructure development, leading to industrialisation, has been the main reason for the growth of the state's manufacturing sector.
54 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: A major part of the economy of a developing country consists of small and tiny production organisations run on an informal, self-employment basis as discussed by the authors, which is referred to as the informal sector.
Abstract: Informal Sector: Concept and Policy T S Papola A major part of the economy of a developing country consists of small and tiny production organisations run on informal, self-employment basis.
39 citations
TL;DR: In this article, employment in the Informal Sector Anthropology & Archeology of Eurasia: Vol 45, No 4, pp 42-55 and this article ), the authors present a survey of employment in informal sector.
Abstract: (2007) Employment in the Informal Sector Anthropology & Archeology of Eurasia: Vol 45, No 4, pp 42-55
36 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the role of the informal sector in rural-urban migration during the 1970s in India, and the analysis included a description of the occupational shifts during 1970s urbanization patterns.
Abstract: This study explored the role of the informal sector in rural-urban migration during the 1970s in India. The analysis includes a description of the occupational shifts during the 1970s urbanization patterns and the role of informal sector earnings and employment opportunities in increasing rural-urban migration. The share of agriculture in the work force increased during the 1960s and declined in the 1970s. Agriculture declined to 35.5% of the national domestic product in 1981. Agricultural workers declined to 66.7%. Informal nonagricultural sectors especially informal manufacturing absorbed most of the loss in agricultural workers. In 1981 the dominant movement was rural-rural migration which was 57.1% of the total. 19.5% of migration was rural-urban migration; 15.5% was urban-urban migration. The rural-rural and rural-urban flows were more prominent during 1971-81 than 1961-71. Among interprovincial movements urban-urban movements were the most important flow. In both periods rural-urban migration flows were more important in total migration. Migration increased in importance as part of urban growth between decades. Two important keys to rural-urban migration were employment and family. The formal sector increased very slowly. The work participation rate of main and marginal workers increased between decades. It is unlikely that rural poverty increased during the 1970s. Per worker annual earnings among informal workers were much higher than among agricultural workers. Informal labor was more than an absorber of labor. The dynamic productive sector attracted labor.
34 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors addressed some key policy issues relating to the micro and small enterprises in India during the reforms period and pointed out that a close look into the definitional changes in terms of the criterion of investment limits and a pronounced emphasis on export-orientation points to the neglect of the employment dimension of MSEs.
Abstract: This paper addresses some key policy issues relating to the micro and small enterprises in India during the reforms period. A close look into the definitional changes in terms of the criterion of investment limits and a pronounced emphasis on export-orientation points to the neglect of the employment dimension of MSEs.
26 citations