Review of Professional Management- A Journal of New Delhi Institute of Management

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

SDGs and Decent Work Agenda:A Path for Inclusive Growth in India


Affiliations
1 Deptt of Economics, Delhi College of Arts & Commerce, (University of Delhi), Netaji Nagar, New Delhi-110023, India
 

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as guideposts for both developed and developing countries. There are as many as 17 goals along with 169 targets in its umbrella to be achieved by 2030 alongwith three dimensions of sustainable development in the world economy. In such economic, social, and environmental concerns of the world, India has the pledge to fulfil this mandate of the UN. However, the role and nature of economic growth in terms of intensity of factors of production are pivotal not only for achieving these goals, but also addressing distributional aspects of national income across socio-economic groups of the nation. Following the policy shift in early 1990s, India has achieved a brief phase of high economic growth but with rising income inequality. It has allegedly been created insecure employment and wages differential across sectors and sub-sectors of the economy.

This paper attempts to delve deeper into the issue of decent work, stagnation of manufacturing sector, and failure of inclusive growth in the past seventy years of planned development and about three decades of market-led growth in India. Based on the ASI data for 2-digit industry classification, the manufacturing industry shows signs of pre-matured de-industrialisation in India since mid-1980s onwards. This does not auger well for generating decent work and inclusive growth. In the light of SDGs, we argue that unless industrial policy framework addresses manufacturing sector earnestly by providing incentives for innovation, and entrepreneurship, catalyse development of Human Capital by investing in the public education and skill development on sustainable basis, goal of inclusive growth will remain elusive as usual.


Keywords

Inclusive Growth, Labour-Flexibility, De-Industrialisation.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Babu, M. S. (2009). Lx)sing out in a growing economy: Labour in the Organised Manufacturing Sector in the Era of Giobalistion, The Indian Journal o f Labour Economics, Vol. 52, No.2. 203-216

  • Bah, E. (2011). Structurai Transformation Paths Across Countries, Emerging Markets Finance & Trade" 47{ Suppiement 2). 5-19.

  • Bhatt,T.P.(2014). India: Structurai Changes in the Manufacturing Sector and Growth Prospect", ISID, Working Paper, 173.

  • Bhattacharya, A. (2006). Labour Market Regulation and Industrial Performance In India: A Critical Review of the Empirical Evidence". The Indian Journal o f Labour Economics, 49(2). 211-32

  • Chaudhari,S. (2015). Import- Liberalisation and Premature De-industrialisation, EPW. 50( 43).

  • Das, D. K. (2008). "Trade Liberalisation, employment. Labour Productivity, and Real Wages: A Study of the Organised Manufacturing Industry in India in the 1980s and 1990s" ILO Asia- Pacific Working Paper Series, May

  • Das, D. K. and Kalita, G. (2009). "Do labour intensive industries generate employment? Evidence from firm level surveys in India" WP No 237, ICRIER

  • Dreze, J. and Sen, A.(2002). India: Development and Participation, OUP, Oxford

  • Gerschenkron, A.(1962). Economic Backwardness in H isto rica l Perspective. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  • Ghose, A. K.(2005). High Wage-Low Productivity Organised Manufacturing And The Employment Challenge In India" The Indian Journal o f Labour Economics, 48(2). 231-242

  • Goldar, B. N. (2011) Growth in Organised Manufacturing employment in Recent Years EPW, 46(7).

  • Goldar, B.N.Si Aggarwal,S.C.(2010). Informalisation of Industrial Labour in India: Are labour market rigidities and growing import competition to blame? 6th Annual Conference on Economic Growth and Development, , Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi retrieved at www.isid.ac.in/~pu/conference/dec_10_conf/Papers/BishwanathGoldar.pdf.

  • Gupta, P., R. Hasan and U. K. (2008). Big Reforms but Small Payoffs: Explaining the Weak Record of Growth and Employment in Indian Manufacturing, Paper presented in the India Policy Forum. Online at http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/13496/MPRA Paper No. 13496, posted 20. February 2009 13:11 UTC

  • Himanshu (2011). "Employment Trends in India: a Re-examination", EPW 46(. 37).53-59

  • Sharma A.N. (2014): India Labour and Employment Report: Workers in the era of globalisation. IHD. https://www.idrc.ca/.../india-labour-and-employment-report-2014-workers-era-globali...

  • ILO (2002a): Decent Work and the Informal Economy, Report VI, International Labour Conference, 90th Session, ILO, Geneva. www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc90/pdf/rep-vi.pdf

  • Kannan,K.P and Raveendran,G. (2009). Growth sans Employment: A Quarter Century of Jobless Growth in India's Organised Manufacturing, EPW, 44(10). 80-91

  • Mehrotra, S. (2016). Realising the Demographic Dividend: Policies to achieve Inclusive Growth in India. Cambridge University Press, India

  • Mehrotra, S., Gandhi, A., Sahoo B. and Saha, P. (2012). Organised and Unorganised Employment in the Non-Agricultural Sectors in the 2000s. lAMR Occasional Paper No.6/2012 available at www.iamrindia.gov.in.

  • Maddison, A. (2007). Contours of the World Economy,l-2030 AD: Essays in Macro-Economic History , Oxford,UK: Oxford University Press.

  • Nath,P. (2014): "Labour Market Flexibility And Employment Growth In India's Organised Manufacturing Sector, 1990-2010", The Indian Journal o f Labour Economics, 57 ( 4).465-499.

  • NCEUS (2009). "The challenge of employment in India: an informai economy perspective" vol-1 Main Report, New Deihi, retrieved at nceuis.nic.in/The_Challenge_of_Employmen t_in_India_(Vol.%20II).pdf.

  • Ocampo, J. A. (2005). "The Quest for Dynamic Efficiency : Structural Dynamics and Economic Growth in Developing Countries. In Beyond Reforms: Structural Dynamics and Macroeconomic Vulnerabiiity. https://openknowledge.world bank.org/.../344340PAPER0Bel01officiai0use0oniyl.p...

  • Papoia, T. S. (1994). Structurai Adjustment, Labour Market Flexibility and Employment. Indian Journal o f Labour Economics, 37(1). 10-35.

  • Rani, U. & Unni, J. (2004), "Unorganised and Organized Manufacturing in India: Potentiai for Employment Generating Growth", EPW, 34(41). 4568-80.

  • Rodrik, D. (2007). One Economics, Many Recipes, Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA

  • Rodrik, D. (2015). Premature Deindustrialization, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Ma 02138,

  • Sharma N, A. (2006). "Flexibility, Empioyment and Labour Market Reforms in India" EPW, 41(21).. 2078-2085.

  • Sunder, K. R. S. (2005), "Labour Fiexibility Debate in India-A Comprehensive Review and some suggestions." Economic and Politicai Weekly, May 28-June 4, pp. 2274-2285.

  • Sood, A. N., Paarltosh and Ghosh, S.(2014). Deregulating Capital, Regulating Labour: The Dynamics in the Manufacturing Sector in India, EPW, 49(5) . 58-68.

  • Srivastava, R. (2013). A Social Protection Floor for India, ILO, New Deihi

  • UNIDO. (2014). Sustaining Employment Growth: The Role of Manufacturing and Structural Change retrieved at https://www.odi.org.../3900-structural-transformation-growth-garmet-manufacturing


Abstract Views: 740

PDF Views: 236




  • SDGs and Decent Work Agenda:A Path for Inclusive Growth in India

Abstract Views: 740  |  PDF Views: 236

Authors

Bir Singh
Deptt of Economics, Delhi College of Arts & Commerce, (University of Delhi), Netaji Nagar, New Delhi-110023, India

Abstract


Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as guideposts for both developed and developing countries. There are as many as 17 goals along with 169 targets in its umbrella to be achieved by 2030 alongwith three dimensions of sustainable development in the world economy. In such economic, social, and environmental concerns of the world, India has the pledge to fulfil this mandate of the UN. However, the role and nature of economic growth in terms of intensity of factors of production are pivotal not only for achieving these goals, but also addressing distributional aspects of national income across socio-economic groups of the nation. Following the policy shift in early 1990s, India has achieved a brief phase of high economic growth but with rising income inequality. It has allegedly been created insecure employment and wages differential across sectors and sub-sectors of the economy.

This paper attempts to delve deeper into the issue of decent work, stagnation of manufacturing sector, and failure of inclusive growth in the past seventy years of planned development and about three decades of market-led growth in India. Based on the ASI data for 2-digit industry classification, the manufacturing industry shows signs of pre-matured de-industrialisation in India since mid-1980s onwards. This does not auger well for generating decent work and inclusive growth. In the light of SDGs, we argue that unless industrial policy framework addresses manufacturing sector earnestly by providing incentives for innovation, and entrepreneurship, catalyse development of Human Capital by investing in the public education and skill development on sustainable basis, goal of inclusive growth will remain elusive as usual.


Keywords


Inclusive Growth, Labour-Flexibility, De-Industrialisation.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.20968/rpm%2F2017%2Fv15%2Fi1%2F151690