Vinoj Abraham

Does Human Development Policy Matter for Economic Growth? Evidence from Indian States

For explaining growth differentials across the countries, recent growth literature is increasingly relying on the process of human capital accumulation along with the traditional factors like labour and non-human capital. This study has investigated the role of human development policy on the economic growth of Indian states for the period 1980-97. Evidences suggest that the human development position of the states is strongly determined by the human development policy pursued. Panel data evidence investigating the growth impact of human development policy found that economic growth significantly depends upon the human development policy It confirmed that the government allocation for education is critical for eco nomic development. However, per capita health expenditure does not posses any significant growth impact.

Precarious drop : reassessing patterns of female labor force participation in India

This paper uses successive rounds of National Sample Survey Organization data from 1993-94 to 2011-12, and draws from census data. This paper (i) provides a description of nearly two decades of patterns and trends in female labor force participation in India; (ii) estimates the extent of the recent decline in female labor force participation; and (iii) examines and assesses the contribution of various demographic and socioeconomic factors in explaining the female labor force participation decision and the recent the drop. The analysis finds that female labor force participation dropped by 19.6 million women from 2004–05 to 2011–12. Participation declined by 11.4 percent, from 42.6 to 31.2 percent during 1993–94 to 2011–12. Approximately 53 percent of this drop occurred in rural India, among those ages 15 to 24 years. Factors such as educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and household composition largely contributed to the drop, although their effects were more pronounced in rural areas. Specifically, the analysis finds a U-shaped relationship between levels of educational attainment and female labor force participation. The decomposition of the contribution of these various determinants to the female labor force participation decision suggests that stability in family income, as indicated by the increasing share of regular wage earners and declining share of casual labor in the composition of family labor supply, has led female family members to choose dropping out of, rather than joining, the labor force. The findings of this paper suggest that conventional approaches to increasing female labor force participation (such as education and skills and legal provisions) will be insufficient. Policies should center on promoting the acceptability of female employment and investing in growing economic sectors that are more attractive for female employment.

MGNREGS: Political Economy, Local Governance and Asset Creation in South India

MGNREGS, the premier centrally-sponsored national rural livelihood scheme, is one of the most elaborately designed and implemented public workfare programmes in India. While a large number of studies have analysed the progress of employment creation under the scheme, very few have looked into the equally important issue of rural asset creation under the scheme. The scheme is centrally sponsored and the broad guidelines are centrally designed, yet the interpretation and implementation of the scheme is subject to wide regional variation owing to variations in local level governance capacity, governance structure and regional political economy. Evidences based on a primary survey across the four southern states, viz., Andhra Pradesh (erstwhile), Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala show that the design of the scheme for asset creation is subject to considerably varied interpretations at the regional and sub-regional levels anchored on the above factors. [Working Paper No. 471].

Development, Displacement and Labour Market Marginalisation: The Case of Jharkhand Tribal Population:

Development-induced displacement has forced the indigenous populations of Jharkhand to abandon their traditional source of livelihood and join the modern economy. However, these indigenous populations are ill-equipped to achieve upward mobility in the modern economic system, thus being relegated to the margins of the labour market. The present study is an attempt to understand this process of marginalisation of tribal people in the labour market. Using various rounds of census as well as unit-level NSS data, the current position of the Scheduled Tribes in the employment and occupational hierarchy is analysed.

The deteriorating labour market conditions and crime: An analysis of Indian states during 2001-2008

Incidence of crime in India has been mounting at a fast pace, especially during the last decade. Moreover, crime on body seems to be increasing in comparison to crime on property. Economics and Sociology literature on crime attributes labour market as a transmitting institution for crime. This paper is an attempt to understand the issue of crime in India as a socio-economic problem with particular reference to the Indian labour market. I argue that the poor labour market conditions in the Indian economy that has been developing in the recent past may be a prime factor in explaining the spate of rise in crime rates recently. Panel data analysis of Indian states during the period 2001-2008 show that unemployment and wage inequality are key variables that explains the crime rate in India, especially crime on body. Education similarly seems to reduce property crime rate. Crime seems to be deterred by an efficient judicial delivery.