Uma Rani

Social Protection for Informal Workers: Insecurities, Instruments and Institutional Mechanisms

This paper presents a broad definition of social protection to include basic securities, such as income, food, health and shelter, and economic securities including having income generating productive work. A conceptual framework is developed to analyse the causes of insecurities of informal workers, identify the core needs of social protection, develop instruments and visualize the institutional mechanisms to address the needs. Using evidence from the micro study, the insecurities faced by the workers are shown due to the structural features of the household and the nature of work. The evidence shows that casual labourers and self-employed workers are the most insecure. Further, the institutional mechanisms for delivering social protection for these workers are discussed. [GIDR WP NO. 127]

Urban Food Consumption in Metro Manila: Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Apprehending Practices, Patterns, and Impacts

Food consumption is a local activity related to environmental impacts at different scales. Yet, the link between eating food as a social and cultural practice and the global implications of food consumption has not been sufficiently explored. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach to relate social practices with the biophysical flows of food products at the household level. Focusing on middle‐class households in Metro Manila, the Philippines, we conduct qualitative interviews to highlight preferences, habits, and perceptions about food consumption. In parallel, we collect quantitative information on food purchased. We relate our results to national trends by analyzing the recent evolution of national food expenditures. Finally, we review environmental impacts related to main food categories. Our research points to the significance of socioeconomic factors on food consumption, notably the presence of domestic help or the professional situation of household members. One main finding is the identification of eating out as an important and growing trend in Asian cities, which causes a shift of resource consumption and related environmental impacts from the household to the service sector.

Do Economic Reforms InfluenceHome-Based Work? Evidence from India

Abstract This paper analyzes the factors that influence the conditions under which a woman in India participates as a home-based worker using secondary level data at the micro level. At the macro level, the paper analyzes whether trade and industrial liberalization in India led to an increase in subcontracted work, of the home-based variety. The results show a historically high share of women in home-based work, which implies that female participation in such work was more likely to be determined by their cultural milieu than by the recent liberalization process. Further, while the micro model of social determinants appears to fit the female home-based work equation, the macro model is found to be insignificant. The lower but increasing share of male home-based work and the statistical significance of the macro model as a determinant of such work lead us to conclude that the economic reforms in India had a statistically significant impact on this form of production organization among men.

Social income and insecurity: A study in Gujarat

Economic liberalisation associated with globalisation is causing a pervasive growth of economic insecurity experienced all over the world. This is placing urgent demands on policymakers to rethink old policies and institutions. This book sets out a new approach to the assessment of income dynamics, based on identifying the diverse components of people’s income and entitlements. It defines ‘social income’ as a broader concept of household income which includes state, community and private benefits. It shows how those components should be measured and provides a composite picture of the structure of incomes and support systems of different societal groups. It recognises how the structure of income, as well as its distribution, has been linked to policy and development dynamics. It starts from a premise that unless the totality of incomes and income support systems is taken into account, academics and policymakers cannot expect to develop appropriate interventions. This perspective is developed though a detailed household survey conducted in rural and urban areas of Gujarat in 2007–2008. This provides an up-to-date picture of how institutions, NGOs and the state system are operating in the context of rapid restructuring of village life in India.