Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

What Explains Wage in India?


Affiliations
1 Labor Market Research Facility (LMRF), School of Management and Labor Studies Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai 400088, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


This paper explores the major determinants of wages in India, drawing cues from National Sample Survey 66th round unit level data. To assess the major factors that impact wages, the authors take into account, in addition to the conventional independent variables that cover household, personal, and labour market characteristics, the general well-being of population, which, in practice, is encapsulated by a composite measure called Human Development Index (HDI). The analysis is limited to those who receive wages on a regular basis and who fall in the age group of 15-59. The empirical results show that wages in India are bound up with not only economic factors, but also identities such as sex and caste.
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Agrawal, Tushar (2011), Returns to Education in India: Some recent evidence, Working Paper 2011-017, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai
  • Bino Paul GD &Divya David (2010), “Social Security In India: Emerging Trends, Contours, And Coverage”, in Bino Paul GD (ed), Labor Market and Emerging Dynamics: India Labor Market Report 2009-10, Adecco TISS Labour Research Initiatives, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
  • Bino Paul GD, Susanta Datta & Venkatesha Murthy R (2011), Working and Living Conditions of Women Domestic Workers: Evidences from Mumbai, Discussion paper 13, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
  • Becker, Gary S (1962), “Investment in Human Capital: A Theoretical Analysis”, Journal of Political Economy, 70 (5): 9-49
  • Banerjee, Biswajit & Gabriella A. Bucci (1995), “On-the-Job Search in a Developing Country: An Analysis Based on Indian Data on Migrants”, Economic Development and Cultural Change,43(3): 565-83
  • Das, Maitreyi Bordia &Puja Vasudeva Dutta (2007), Does Caste Matter for Wages in the Indian Labor Market, Paper presented at the Third IZA/World Bank Conference on Employment and Development, Rabat Morocco May 2008
  • Dutta, RC & Milly Sil (2007), Contemporary Issues on Labour Law Reforms in India, an Overview, Discussion Paper No. 5/2007, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
  • Deshpande, Ashwini (2010), “Merit, Mobility, and Modernism: Caste Discrimination in Contemporary Indian Labor Markets”, The Indian Journal of Labor Economics,53,(3)
  • Desai B Sonalde, Amaresh Dubey, Brij L Joshi, Mitali Sen, Abusaleh Sharif &Reeve Venneman (2010), Human Development in India, Challenges for a Society in Transition, Oxford University Press, New Delhi
  • Duraisamy, P. (2002), “Changes in Returns to Education in India, 1983–94: By Gender, Age-Cohort and Location.” Economics of Education Review, (21:6): 609-22.
  • Groshen L Erica (1990), How Are Wages Determined? Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, economics commentary, February 15
  • Horowitz, Grace (1974), “Wage Determination in a Labor Surplus Economy: The Case of India”, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 22 (4):666-72
  • International Labor Organization (2010), Global Wage Report 2010/2011: Wage Policies in Times of Crisis, International Labor Office, Geneva
  • Livingstone, D W (1997), “The Limits of Human Capital Theory,” Policy Options, July-August
  • Krishna & Bino Paul GD (2012), Determinants of On-the-job search in India: Macro and Micro Evidences, Discussion paper 14, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
  • Madheswaran, S & Paul Attewell (2007), “Caste Discrimination in the Indian Urban Labor Market: Evidence from the National Sample Survey”, Economic and Political Weekly, 42:41
  • Madheswaran, S (2010), “Labor Market Discrimination in India: Methodological Developments and Empirical Evidence”, The Indian Journal of Labor Economics, 53 (3)
  • Mincer, Jacob (1974), Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, New York: Columbia University Press
  • Mincer, Jacob & Solomon W. Polachek (1974), “Family Investments in Human Capital: Earnings of Women”, Journal of Political Economy, March Supplement,.82
  • Mortensen, D. (2003), Why are Similar People Paid Differently, Cambridge: MIT Press. Hardback edition.
  • National Sample Survey Organization: Employment and Unemployment Situation in India: July, 2009-June 2010, Report No.537
  • Phimister, Euan (2005), “Urban Effects on Participation and Wages: Are There Gender Differences?”, Journal of Urban Economics, 58:513-36
  • Pissarides, Christopher A. & Jonathan Wadsworth (1994), “On-the-Job-Search, Some Empiri cal Evidence from Britain”, European Economic Review, 38:385-401
  • Schultz, Theodore W. (1961), “Investment in Human Capital”, American Economic Review, 51-1:. 1-17
  • Sorensen, Elaine. (1990), “The Crowding Hypothesis and Comparable Worth”, Journal of Human Resources, 25: 55-89
  • Stigler, G. (1962), Information in the Labour Market, Journal of Political Economy, 70: 94-105
  • Tilak, Jandhyala B.G. (1987), The Economics of Inequality in Education, New Delhi: Sage Publications
  • Thorat, Sukhadeo, Paul Attewell & Firdaus Fatima Rizvi (2009), Urban Labor Market Discrimination, Working Paper Series, Volume 111, Number 01, Indian Institute of Dalit Studies, New Delhi
  • United Nations Development Program (2010), Human Development Report 2010, The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development, Palgrave Macmillan, New York

Abstract Views: 487

PDF Views: 0




  • What Explains Wage in India?

Abstract Views: 487  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

M. Krishna
Labor Market Research Facility (LMRF), School of Management and Labor Studies Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai 400088, India
G. D. Bino Paul
Labor Market Research Facility (LMRF), School of Management and Labor Studies Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai 400088, India

Abstract


This paper explores the major determinants of wages in India, drawing cues from National Sample Survey 66th round unit level data. To assess the major factors that impact wages, the authors take into account, in addition to the conventional independent variables that cover household, personal, and labour market characteristics, the general well-being of population, which, in practice, is encapsulated by a composite measure called Human Development Index (HDI). The analysis is limited to those who receive wages on a regular basis and who fall in the age group of 15-59. The empirical results show that wages in India are bound up with not only economic factors, but also identities such as sex and caste.

References