Arup Mitra

Productivity and Technical Efficiency in Indian States' Manufacturing: The Role of Infrastructure

of India (New Delhi: Government of India, various issues).

Rural to Urban Migration: A District‐Level Analysis for India

Using the 2001 Census data, this paper analyses district‐level rural‐to‐urban migration rates (both intra‐state and inter‐state) among males and females separately. Though many of the relatively poor and backward states actually show large population mobility, male migration is also prominent in the relatively high‐income states. Rural women, on the other hand, usually migrate within the boundaries of the states. The social networks effects are prevalent among the short‐distance migrants, and the North/South divide in the Indian context is indeed a significant phenomenon, with the exception of a few metropolitan cities. Looking at the effect of factors at the place of destination, prospects for better job opportunities are a major determinant of male migration. Low castes, minority groups and women show network effects. The paper finally brings out the effect of migration on health.

Total Factor Productivity Growth and Urbanization Economies: A Case of Indian Industries

Based on panel data for fifteen major states in India, this paper provides evidence in favor of the existence of urbanization economies. In eleven of seventeen two†digit industry groups, total factor productivity growth is responsive to urban population or industrial spread. Although the impact of these variables taken to capture agglomeration economies on total factor productivity growth is not monotonic, economic policy would yield a sub†optimal outcome by ignoring the positive effect of the size factor. Urban population or industrial spread benefits firms by possibly improving the quality of labor and enhancing the productive utilization of resources.

Migration, Livelihood and Well-being: Evidence from Indian City Slums

What helps workers from low-income households to access urban job market information and whether migrants are able to experience upward mobility at the place of destination are the two pertinent issues in urban development which this paper tries to examine. Results based on a slum survey in four Indian cities highlight the importance of various informal channels through which urban jobs are accessed. However, these networks reduce the probability of upward mobility, as network extension leads to excess supplies of labour relative to demand. The issue of upward mobility has also been examined by constructing a well-being (deprivation) index based on the factor analysis of a large number of social, economic, demographic, education and health-specific variables. Although findings are indicative of improvements in the well-being of migrant workers over time, several of the long-duration migrants and natives in the cities still lead a low quality life. The paper, therefore, argues in favour of urban employment programmes.

State Infrastructure and Productive Performance in Indian Manufacturing

We present estimates, at the State level, of Indian manufacturing Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and Technical Efficiency (TE) from the estimation of production functions for 17 manufacturing industries from 1976 to 1992. Our analysis relates TFP and TE to the availability of infrastructure. We construct an aggregate infrastructure indicator from 12 indicators of core, social, and economic infrastructure. According to our findings, differences across States in manufacturing TFP and TE performance are accounted for, to a significant extent, by differences in infrastructure endowments. Our estimations make it possible, moreover, to measure the productive impact of the various types of infrastructure, as well as to identify the manufacturing industries where productivity gains are relatively more constrained by inadequate infrastructure. The findings could help in designing an effective policy of infrastructure investment, supporting both recent economic reforms towards industrial restructuring and efforts aiming to promote regional convergence in India ... Dans ce document sont presentees des estimations au niveau des Etats de l’Inde, de la Productivite globale des facteurs (PGF) et de l’efficacite technique (ET) dans l’industrie manufacturiere, a partir de l’estimation de fonctions de production pour 17 branches industrielles sur la periode 1976–92. Notre analyse fait dependre la PGF et l’ET de la disponibilite en infrastructures. Nous elaborons un indicateur composite d’equipement en infrastructures a partir de 12 indicateurs desagreges d’infrastructures physiques, sociales et economiques. Nos resultats montrent que les differences regionales de PGF et d’ET dans l’industrie manufacturiere sont expliquees de facon tres significative par les disparites d’equipement en infrastructures selon les Etats. Nos estimations permettent, en outre, de quantifier l’impact productif des divers types d’infrastructures, de meme que les branches manufacturieres les plus contraintes par leurs insuffisances. Nos resultats visent a la mise en place ...

Estimating impact of infrastructure on productivity and efficiency of Indian manufacturing

Drawing on a recent data set of the Indian manufacturing industry for the period 1994–2008, this article shows for eight sectors that core infrastructure matters in determining Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and Technical Efficiency (TE). Results suggest that the impact is rather strong on both measures (elasticity of 0.32 and 0.17, respectively). This finding is of particular importance in the Indian context characterized by infrastructure bottlenecks and strongly supports the view that a lack of infrastructure can hamper growth in developing countries.

Technology Import and Industrial Employment: Evidence from Developing Countries

This paper based on panel data across countries examines the possible effect of the imported technology on labour absorption in the industrial sector, after controlling for real wage rate and GDP per capita. Findings tend to suggest a negative relationship between the two. Technical efficiency index derived on the basis of the stochastic frontier function framework is also negatively affected by the import of technology. Without enhancing the knowledge relating to the mechanisms of exploiting the new technology acquired from abroad, a mere increase in import of technology would mean rising unutilized capacity. And this could be due to the poor skill base of the available human capital. Investment in human capital in terms of skill formation, up-gradation, and training on the one hand and technological advancement to suit the internal labour market conditions are the two important policy conclusions for reviving the role of industry as the engine of pro-poor growth. Copyright 2009 CEIS, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

New Patterns in Indian Urbanization Emergence of Census Towns

This study focuses on the new patterns related to urbanization in India from the 2011 census data, particularly with regard to the emergence of the census towns. What forces are involved in explaining the growth of such towns is an important question and this is what the present article tries to explore. The regional spread of these census towns is examined and based on the district-level data, the growth dynamics of such reclassification of areas from rural to urban status is brought out through factor analysis. Further, the viability of such new towns to sustain economic activities and population growth is also discussed. Findings tend to suggest that activities in areas which have already been urban tend to spillover to the rural hinterland and then usher in a change in their classification status, in a limited sense though. On the other hand, the shift of labour to non-farm activities due to the lack of productive sources of livelihood in the agricultural sector is also a strong possibility. Finally, the policy implications are brought out.

Growth and poverty in India: emerging dimensions of the tertiary sector

The economic reforms of the 1990s have accelerated the tertiarisation of the Indian economy. New activities both in the manufacturing and tertiary sectors have emerged and also seem to have generated employment opportunities that did not exist earlier. Though many such opportunities are available only to the highly skilled and/or educated workforce, the indirect effects are of considerable significance in that they manifest the percolation effects of growth. In this context, the present study aims at examining the nature and composition of the tertiary sectors growth across the major states in India and relates such growth patterns to changes in poverty. On the whole, results are indicative that a large tertiary sector is not as superfluous as is often said to be. It has the potential to enhance economic growth and therefore contribute to poverty reduction.

Slums as vote banks and residents' access to basic amenities: the role of political contact and its determinants

This paper analyses the slum dwellers’ access to basic amenities and how they manage to gain access to these amenities. According to the data based on associations between the Indian states’ shares of slums, the proportions of notified slums, and the prevailing conditions in slums in terms of basic amenities, political contact is a key factor in this area. The slum survey data (2004-05), which is based on the political economy framework, shows that political contact facilitates easier access to certain facilities, including land tenure and basic amenities. The logit model identifies determinants of political contact by examining social networks and individual endowments. This paper argues that while political accessibility is crucial for the survival strategy, the vulnerability of slum dwellers hardly diminishes in the long run; on the contrary, the political use of slums as “vote banks” perpetuates this vulnerability. Certain findings suggest that strong social networks can prevent low-income households from falling into political traps. It is possible for these households to access amenities and improved living conditions through their own efforts and through social capital, without essentially becoming a part of any political party.