ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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Remembering Ajit Kumar Ghose (1947–2023)

The intellectual contributions of Ajit Kumar Ghose in the field of labour economics have been far-reaching. Focusing on the interlinked themes of dual economies and structural transformation, this obituary reflects upon the salient features of Ghosh’s many intellectual contributions towards studying the Indian economy.

Quest for an Indian Manufacturing Future

Industrialisation for Employment and Growth in India: Lessons from Small Firm Clusters and Beyond edited by R Nagaraj, New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2021; p 260, `950 (hardback).

Did Employment Rise or Fall in India between 2011 and 2017?

The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017­–18 data have created a controversy regarding the quantity of employment generated in the past few years in India. Estimates ranging from an absolute increase of 23 million to an absolute decline of 15.5 million have been published. In this paper, we show that some of the variations in estimates can be attributed to how populations are projected based on data from Census 2011. We estimate the change in employment using the cohort–component method of population projection. We show that for men, the total employment rose, but the increase fell far short of the increase in the working age population. For women, employment fell. The decline was concentrated among women engaged in part-time or occasional work in agriculture and construction.

 

Labour, Livelihoods, and Employment in the 2021–22 Union Budget

Coming in the midst of the immense damage inflicted on the Indian economy by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021–22 Union Budget needed to perform the unenviable task of compensating households for massive livelihood losses as well as stimulating economic growth while maintaining some fiscal discipline. As it turned out, the government chose to focus on the second and third goals and largely ignored the first.

 

Long-run Performance of the Organised Manufacturing Sector in India

The Indian manufacturing sector has not increased its share in output or employment along expected lines. The aggregate trends in this sector at the 3-digit level of the National Industrial Classification from 1983 to 2017 are investigated here. Using data from the Annual Survey of Industries obtained from theEPWRFITS, it identifies three sub-periods within the overall period: 1988–96, 1996–2006, and 2006–17. A shift-share decomposition is used to show that most of the decline in the labour to capital ratio can be explained by within-industry changes. Finally, industries are analysed with respect to their capacity to deliver job and wage growth.

A Better Economics for the Indian Context

Reflecting on their experience of using The Economy to teach undergraduate students in India, two teachers of economics discuss the need for a version of the alternative textbook that addresses the needs of students who seek to understand the Indian economy. The possibilities of such a version of the textbook are discussed.

Championing the Village Movement

The Web of Freedom: J C Kumarappa and Gandhi’s Struggle for Economic Justice by Venu Madhav Govindu and Deepak Malghan; New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2016; pp 388, 817.

 

What Does the Rural Economy Need?

The agricultural sector has performed worse than the other sectors over the years. The shares of non-agricultural employment and output have increased, while70% of agricultural householdscannot meet their low consumptionneeds even after diversification of sources of income. An analysis of budgetary provisions for the rural economy suggests that the government has not done enough to address some of these well-documented problems, and does not have the required vision to substantially increase rural employment opportunities.

Non-Food Expenditures and Consumption Inequality in India

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about economic inequality in India during the post-reform period. It analyses consumption inequality through the hitherto neglected lens of non-food expenditure. Using household level consumption expenditure data from the quinquennial "thick" rounds of the National Sample Survey, the paper shows that inequality within food and non-food groups has declined, even as overall expenditure inequality has increased over time. The analysis suggests that the rise in overall expenditure inequality is due to the increased weight in the household budget of non-food spending, which tends to be more unequal than food spending. The paper also shows that inequality is very different across broad non-food items. Durables, education, healthcare, and consumer services show the most rapid increases in real expenditure, and also display the highest levels of inequality. Finally, the paper offers some possible mechanisms for this phenomenon and suggests policy measures to deal with this form of inequality.

Dynamics of Income Inequality in India

This article analyses the evolution of income inequality in India in the period 1922-99 using the World Top Incomes Database. Inequality decreased steadily in the planning period, driven by a fall in real incomes at the top of the distribution. This decline reversed itself in the early 1980s. The 1990s saw an increasing divergence between the rich (top 1%) and the rest of the country.

Relations of Production and Modes of Surplus Extraction in India: Part II - 'Informal' Industry

This paper uses aggregate-level data, as well as case-studies, to trace the evolution of some key structural features of the Indian economy, relating both to the agricultural and the informal industrial sector. These aggregate trends are used to infer (a) the dominant relations of production under which the vast majority of the Indian working people labour, and (b) the predominant ways in which the surplus labour of the direct producers is appropriated by the dominant classes. This is Part II of the paper covering the "informal" industrial sector; Part I, on agriculture, appeared last week.

Relations of Production and Modes of Surplus Extraction in India: Part I - Agriculture

This paper uses aggregate-level data, as well as casestudies, to trace out the evolution of some key structural features of the Indian economy, relating both to the agricultural and the informal industrial sector. These aggregate trends are used to infer: (a) the dominant relations of production under which the vast majority of the Indian working people labour, and (b) the predominant ways in which the surplus labour of the direct producers is appropriated by the dominant classes. This summary account is meant to inform and link up with ongoing attempts at radically restructuring Indian society. Part I, published this week, covers agriculture, while Part II, to be published next week, inquires into the "informal" industrial sector.

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