![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
Mobility and Stagnation in India's Rural Labour Market
Subscribe/Renew Journal
Transformation of the countryside from agrarian subsistence economy to nonfarm monetised economy is propagated as a precursor of growth and development that involves shifting of labour from farming to off-farm activities. India has started its journey in this path but has a long way to go. Researchers also question the changing pattern of rural labour movement as a positive phenomenon or a distress one. This paper attempts to examine the complexity of changes in rural labour market in India over a quarter of a century to untangle the dynamics. It is observed that the changes taking place are not always conducive to progress as a large part of it is distress-driven. While some social groups are going up the ladder, a large mass of others are stagnating in the same or similar occupations. It appears that agriculture still holds the key to rural development. A three-pronged strategy of agricultural progress, human capital formation and rural industrialisation is necessary for breaking the shackles of continuity and usher in changes that are real rather than apparent.
User
Subscription
Login to verify subscription
Font Size
Information
- Abraham, V (2009), “Employment Growth in Rural India: Distress-Driven?”, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol. 44, No. 16, April 18, 2009, pp. 97-104.
- Alagh, Yoginder K (2004), “State of the Indian Farmer: A Millennium Study”, Volume 1: An Overview, Academic Foundation and Government of India, New Delhi.
- Bhalla, Sheila (2003), “India’s Rural Economy: Issues and Evidence”, Institute for Human Development, mimeo.
- Bhaumik, SK (2002), “Employment Diversification in Rural India: A State Level Analysis”, The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 45, No 4.
- Binswanger-Mkhize, Hans P (2013), “The Stunted Structural Transformation of the Indian Economy: Agriculture, Manufacturing and the Rural Non-Farm Sector”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 48, No. 26-27, June 29.
- Chadha, G.K. and Sahu, P.P (2002), “Post-reform Setbacks in Rural Employment: Issues that Need Further Scrutiny”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 37, No. 21, May 25, 2002, pp.1998-2026
- Coppard, Daniel (2001), “The Rural Non-farm Economy in India: A Review of the Literature”, Natural Resource Institute, Department for International Development (DFID), World Bank, NRI Report No 2662, November.
- Deshingkar, Priya and John Farrington (2006), “Rural Labour Markets and Migration in South Asia: Evidence from India and Bangladesh”, Background Paper for the World Development Report 2008,
- Eswaran, M. A. Kotwal, B. Ramaswami and W. Wadhwa (2009), “Sectoral Labour Flows and Agricultural Wages in India, 1983-2004: Has Growth Trickled Down?”, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol. 44, No. 2, January 10, 2009, pp. 46-55
- Fisher, T. and V. Mahajan (1998), The Forgotten Sector: Non-farm Employment and Enterprises in Rural India”, Intermediate Technology Publications, London.
- ICSSR (2009), “ICSSR Journal of Abstracts and Reviews – Economics”, Indian Council of Social Science Research, New Delhi.
- Jatav, Manoj and Sucharita Sen (2013), “Drivers of Non-Farm Employment in Rural India: Evidence from the 2009-10 NSSO Round”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 48, No. 26-27, June 29.
- Jha, Brajesh (2006), “Rural Non-Farm Employment in India: Macro-Trends, Micro-Evidences and Policy Options”, IEG Working Paper Series No. E/272/2006, IEG, New Delhi. [available from iegindia.org/ workpap/wp267.pdfý, accessed on 12-10-2013].
- NSSO (1983), “Unit Level Records on Second Quinquennial Survey on Employment and Unemployment in India 1983-84, NSS 38th Round - July 1983-June 1984”, National Sample Survey Organisation: Government of India.
- NSSO (2010), “Unit Level Records on Eighth Quinquennial Survey on Employment and Unemployment in India 2009-10, NSS 66th Round - July 2009-June 2010”, National Sample Survey Organisation: Government of India.
- Ranjan, Sharad (2009), “Rural Non-Farm Employment in India: A Review Based on Recent Evidence”, Journal of Rural Development, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 73 - 84.
- Sastry, N.S. (2002), “Work Opportunities for Indian Rural Labour Force: Recent Knowledge and Thinking”, Journal of Indian Society of Agricultural Statistics, Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 288-96.
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/abstractview.png)
Abstract Views: 245
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/pdfview.png)
PDF Views: 112