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Purpose: Indian government initiated several skill development policies and different types of vocational education and training (VET). Yet the participation in skill education is low because of poor labour market outcomes. This paper aims to calculate returns to skill education to understand the type of training that will have better labour market outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper nationally representative data from the periodic labour force survey (PLFS), collected by the national sample survey office for 2017-2018, are used to estimate the returns to formal and non-formal VET obtained (after different levels of general education) with the help of Heckman's two-stage method. Findings: Nearly 8% of the working-age population has received some form of VET (mostly non-formal), generating poor returns. For the overall population, formal on-job training (OJT) and full-time VET influence wage positively and significantly. Full-time VET obtained after secondary and below levels of education generates positive returns, whereas part-time VET is profitable only to those without formal education. At the graduate level, technical education obtained along with VET is associated with better wages. Originality/value: In India where a considerable proportion of the workforce is employed in the informal sector, different types of skill training like full-time, part-time and OJT influence labour market outcomes. This finding has policy implication for countries with large informal sector and calls for further research in such countries.

This study aims to investigate the impacts of traditional and green economic growth on poverty, income inequalities, and environmental degradation in the case of South Asian economies. In this regard, the study collects data for the period 2000 to 2018 from five South Asian economies (Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh) from world development indicators (WDI). The study applies second-generation unit root test and co-integration technique, CIPS unit root and Westerlund co-integration tests, to establish the stationarity of the series and co-integration relationship among variables. Furthermore, this study utilized dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) and fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) models to investigate the long-run empirical estimates. The study finds that both traditional economic growth (GDP) and green economic growth (GGDP) have a negative impact on poverty and inequality; however, GGDP contributes more than traditional GDP to reducing poverty and inequality. Moreover, the study shows that economic growth has a positive long-run impact on environmental degradation while GGDP has a negative and significant long-run association with environmental degradation. The study recommends that policymakers should develop policies to develop green economic growth to save the environment and for the reduction in poverty and income inequalities in south Asian economies., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

MGNREGA was introduced in India in 2005 with the aim to improve the livelihood of rural Indian households. In 2012-13, around 156 million rural Indian households had an outstanding personal debt; 85% of the amount of credit being disbursed was given to those households in the bottom income decile for 'non-business' related purposes. This paper uses nationally representative household data from the NSS EUS collected in 2004-05 and 2009-10 to look at the impact MGNREGA has had on the rural households' ability to repay outstanding debt. Results suggests that MGNREGA reduced the size of the outstanding debts for vulnerable households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As Covid-19 became a pandemic, numerous people were forced to stay at home, leading to increased intimate partner violence (IPV) in many countries, particularly in developing and least-developed ones. This paper aims to highlight the IPV based on 15 different cases formed from the practical evidence of five developing countries. Design/methodology/approach: The authors interviewed 15 women from five countries who were the victims of IPV during the early periods of Covid-19 outbreak. Due to geographical remoteness, the authors conducted informal telephone interviews to collect the participants' personal experiences. The conversations were recorded with participants' permission; afterwards, the authors summarized participants' experiences into 15 different cases without revealing their original identities (instead, disguised names were used). Findings: It was revealed that the women were the primary victims of such violence, particularly from their intimate partners (husbands). In most cases, such IPV, as reported by the interviewees, originated or increased after the pandemic when they were forced to stay at home, losing their partners' jobs or income sources. Originality/value: The authors summarized the causes of IPV and put forward a few action recommendations based on the interviewees' practical experience and existing literature. This paper will open a new window for research investigations on IPV during emergencies such as Covid-19 outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic, India's government instituted a severe nationwide lockdown in late March 2020. In this paper, we analyze household survey data on income from an Indian state, Punjab. We analyze the impacts of the pandemic and lockdown on total household income, as well as its components, including wages, business income and transfers. This paper innovates in this area by using Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood estimation to deal with the skewed distributions of various income components, as well as quantile regressions to examine differential impacts across the income distribution. We examine the differences between rural and urban households, differential impacts on female-headed and laborer households, and the time pattern of impacts. We find that rural households experienced more persistent income declines than urban households, and their wages suffered relatively more. Households with daily laborers were most badly affected, and this was especially true at the bottom of the income distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite a lot of developments in the financial markets, financial illiteracy is a main concern across the world and is directly associated with faulty financial decisions making. The situation is very alarming among a socially or economically marginalized section of society as they cannot afford to pay finance professionals for their wealth management. The objective of the study is to understand the level of financial literacy as well as its determinants among the marginalized section of society living in hilly areas. Design/methodology/approach: The study is descriptive as well as empirical in design and based on primary data collected from the 300 scheduled tribe households of Himachal Pradesh a hilly state of India. Findings: The study observed that financial literacy is very low among the scheduled tribes living, and their level of education, income, family system and Internet accessibility have a significant impact on their financial scores. Practical implications: The outcome of the paper may be useful to design customized awareness programs, and financial products focusing on scheduled tribes living in far-flung areas so that they can get the benefits of market-driven financial products. Social implications: Financial awareness can help scheduled tribes in their financial inclusion thereby reducing poverty and inequality through informed financial decisions. Thus, the outcome if implemented can help in achieving the objective of inclusive growth. Originality/value: No specific work has been done to explore the level as well as the determinants of financial literacy among the scheduled tribe households living in hill areas. This paper will fill this gap and contributes to the existing work on financial literacy and inclusion. Peer review: The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2023-0008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Measurement of returns to vocational education has always remained a matter of controversy (Psacharopoulos, 1994; Bennell and Segerstrom, 1998; Ziderman, 1997). Based upon the return evidence many World Bank projects were scrapped (Middleton and Ziderman, 1997, Bennell and Segerstrom, 1998). However, there is again a growing interest for Vocational Education in different countries as well as in international body like UNESCO (Debroy, 2009; King, 2009; McGrath, 2012). Unfortunately there is little justification for this growth from the returns to Vocational Education literature. India is one among the countries where fervent around vocational education and training (henceforth VET) is quite discernible at present. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach: Standard Minerian, extended Mincerian and Heckman two-stage methods are used to measure returns to VET vis-à-vis returns to general education in Indian context while taking care of selection bias problem. It is measured at different levels of education since the characteristics of VET changes significantly at different levels of education. This work also considers different classifications of VET (Formal, Hereditary, On the Job). National Sample Survey (NSS) data which recently has included data on VET is used for this measurement. Findings: It shows that the returns to formal VET and On the Job training (OJT) are quite high in the primary level. There is a gradual decline in these returns when compared with general education at higher levels, namely, secondary and tertiary level. At tertiary level effect of formal VET or OJT on income becomes almost insignificant. On the other hand, hereditary training and other category of VET have significantly negative impact and insignificant impact on income, respectively. Research limitations/implications: This work suggests that the investment in VET in present context is justified however there is a requirement to focus on specific area within the VET for this investment. Investment in higher level of formal VET as well as in the OJT set up can provide better return to the individuals. However, NSS data does not provide income data for the self-employed persons. Hence, self-employed category remains outside the purview of this study. Practical implications: In general, formal VET and OJT are profitable for individual in wage employment. However, this profitability declines when the effect of the training is measured at a higher level of general education. Formal vocational training/OJT for the primary and secondary school dropouts are clearly profitable. However, OTJ seems to be providing a return similar to what is provided by formal training. A poor performance of formal VET indicates an institutional gap and reflects present cry from industry for "quality" manpower. Originality/value: To author's knowledge there is no study on return evidence from various types of VET in Indian context. This study is a deviance from the existing literature on VET in following ways. First, this study suggests that investment in VET can be profitable. Second, many earlier works missed out to consider different types of VET and compare them with general education at different levels. Putting all types of VET into one basket and then analyzing returns has the risk to misleading the policies. Different VETs have completely different dynamics and hence it is required to treat them separately.

Can public interventions persistently reduce conflict? Adverse weather shocks, through their impact on incomes, have been identified as robust drivers of conflict in many contexts. An effective social insurance system moderates the impact of adverse shocks on household incomes, and hence, could attenuate the link between these shocks and conflict. This paper shows that a public employment program in India, by providing an alternative source of income through a guarantee of 100 days of employment at minimum wages, effectively provides insurance. This has an indirect pacifying effect. By weakening the link between productivity shocks and incomes, the program uncouples productivity shocks from conflict, leading persistently lower conflict levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has had an extremely adverse balance of trade in education. Though only a minor education exporter through Mode 2, India is the world's second largest student-sending country. Nevertheless, given English as the medium of instruction especially in apex institutions, low tuition and cost of living, quite a few world-class institutions, and a long tradition of hosting international students, India should have been an attractive destination. The paper, therefore, aims at investigating into the reasons for this failure by undertaking a two-phase empirical analysis. The findings of the first phase using the panel data and pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) techniques attribute this failure to India's lower per capita income, gross enrollment ratio (GER), and per-pupil expenditure, and none of its institutions being among the top 200 world university rankings. The findings of the second phase using the logit and probit models suggest that the probability of attracting international students by those institutions significantly increases which provide a hostel facility and fellowships, have a dedicated agency, and are accredited, privately-owned and unitary type.

Purpose: Livelihood diversification is a sound alternative for higher economic growth and its success or failure is conditioned by the interplay of a multitude of factors. The study of the profile of the farmers in which they operate is important to highlight the factors leading to success in diversified livelihoods. Design/Methodology/Approach: A total of 160 households of farmers were selected randomly and were interviewed to collect primary data for the study. To measure the success of diversified occupation a success-failure scale was developed following the steps used by Singh et al., "t" statistics was used to compare the two groups. Discriminant function analysis was used to identify the factors determining success and failure in diversified occupation. Findings: The study revealed that 53% of the diversifiers were successful in their diversified activities. Around 62.50% diversifiers under the high success category were adopted non-farming nature of diversification along with farm diversification. Number of livestock holding, resource mobilisation potentiality, contact with extension personnel, distance from market, share of non-farm income, credit-seeking behaviour and dependency ratio were major characters discriminating successful diversifiers from unsuccessful diversifiers. Practical Implications: The paper would be useful for the researchers and policy-makers to assess and compare the livelihood security of different rural communities in the country. Originality/Value: The study was originally conducted by the authors. Nothing similar has been previously published or is currently under consideration for publication by another journal.

The paper analyses the effect of electronic-trading (e-trading) on the wholesale prices of select commodities in agricultural marketplaces to aid agrarian income levels. Post a literature review, the researcher performed a field survey to get the opinions of 371 farmers and traders. The researcher also conducted the descriptive statistical analysis, the difference in differences analysis, and the t-test analysis to show the wholesale price improvement after the e-trading platform implementation. The field survey findings and the statistical analysis suggest an increase in average wholesale prices of select agri-commodities in select markets of India due to the National Agriculture Market (eNAM) e-trading platform effect. The suggestions to practitioners and social policymakers highlight an improvement in the functioning of e-trading in terms of better prices for farmers, lowering transaction costs, increased transaction speed, reduced administrative hurdles, improved infrastructure and eventually higher income for a farmer. The knowledge base developed in this paper will help researchers reduce the knowledge gap in agricultural pricing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"This paper examines the growth experience of 20 states of India during 1961-91, using cross-sectional estimation and the analytical framework of the Solow-Swan neoclassical growth model. We find evidence of absolute convergence--initially poor states grew faster than their initially rich counterparts. Also, the dispersion of real per capita state incomes widened over the period 1961-91. However, relatively more grants were transferred from the central government to the poor states than to their rich counterparts. Significant barriers to population flows also exist, as net migration from poor to rich states responded only weakly to cross-state income differentials.", (excerpt)

The outcome of economic growth is visualised as the well-being of citizens or human well-being (HWB). However, it has been a great challenge to measure HWB. Though there are known reasons for considering GDP and its growth as a measure of overall development and progress of nations, yet mostly it is being used as a gospel indicator to compare nations and design appropriate policies. This paper is an effort to develop a comprehensive adjusted GDP to measure HWB through secondary data for thirty years (1990–91 to 2019–20) in India. We make thirty-five adjustments to net national income (NNI) to compute the adjusted national income (ANI) index based on the system analysis approach. The empirical findings show that the gap between NNI and ANI has been growing over time, and the ANI index shows an increasing trend. Through the analysis it is suggested that economic growth should be focused only if it improves HWB (full or partial). The paper attempts to make intervention into policy shift for improving HWB vis-à-vis happiness of people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates the meaningful application of learning analytics for determining dropout predictors in the context of open and distance learning in a large developing country. The study was conducted at the Directorate of Distance Education at the University of North Bengal, West Bengal, India. This study employed a quantitative research design using a data mining approach to examine the predictive relationship between pre-entry demographic variables of learners with their dropout behaviour. Demographic and academic variables of learners, such as gender, marital and employment status, subject chosen, social status, age and income status were taken as independent or explanatory variables for predicting the response variables. Data analysis showed that the pattern of learner attrition is strongly biased towards a relatively disadvantaged category of learners, namely married and employed learners and those belonging to a higher age group. It also indicated that employed men or married women are more likely to leave due to factors such as pregnancy or relocation, and that remoteness of location of residence contributed to a high dropout rate. The results of this study provide important input for counsellors and faculty members to advise learners for best possible completion options.

This study aimed to explore subjective well-being (SWB) in an urban Indian sample. Adults (n = 1099) belonging to two wards in the city of Bangalore in South India, responded to a study-specific questionnaire. This paper is based on data generated as part of an ongoing larger study looking at correlates of SWB. Almost equal number of men and women responded to the study and their age ranged from 20 to 81 years (mean age 37 years). Majority of them were married, Hindus, from middle socio-economic status, had studied above pre-university level and more than half were earning. The mean scores on positive affect (40.9), negative affect (27.6) and life satisfaction (24) suggested above average levels of SWB. Higher age, being married, having higher education, higher income and working in a full time job seemed to improve life satisfaction and decrease negative affect. Religion was also significantly associated with negative affect. Step-wise regression analysis suggested that only education and income were important predictors of positive affect, while negative affect was better predicted by age, income, work status and religion. Life satisfaction was predicted by income, age and education. The important correlates of SWB for men and women were somewhat different. Overall, sociodemographic variables have minimal effect on SWB in urban India and research needs to explore other predictors of SWB.

The economic reforms initiated in India in 1991 have brought about visible upliftment of economic conditions of the country. This paper examines if the economic process is associated with an enhancement of India's social development in equal measure in the reform decade of nineties. Ray (1989) considered thirteen social indicators of India and constructed the country's social development index (SDI) as a certain weighted average of the selected indicators, for the years between 1950-51 and 1975-76. The present work broadly follows Ray (1989) in tracking the social development in the decade of economic reforms from 1990-91 to 1999-2000. The movement of SDI in nineties has been compared with the movements of India's per capita income and plan expenditure on the social sector. The results show that though there has been growth in the social sector, it is not by far quite encouraging and perhaps more needs to be done in the social sector.

Introduction: Violence against women is a serious human rights violation. While much attention has been given to the prevalence and prevention of physical, sexual and emotional violence, one crucial dimension is to date less well understood: economic abuse against women. This paper presents rich qualitative data on economic abuse against women in India to improve the understanding of economic abuse in a lower-middle income setting and to assess how economic abuse interacts with socio-cultural factors such as patrilocality, patriarchal gender norms and limited acceptance of female employment., Methods: We conducted 13 focus group discussions (FGDs) in the states Maharashtra and Rajasthan. FGDs were conducted with married working (for income) and non-working women, husbands and mothers-in-law. Discussions were recorded, transcribed verbatim and translated to English. Transcripts were coded using thematic analysis and emerging themes were discussed among all authors., Results: Women suffered from four distinct forms of economic abuse. Economic control emerged as the most prevalent theme, amplified by women's marginalisation from financial decision-making in the household. Discussions further alluded to employment sabotage, which husbands commonly justified by not wanting their wives to neglect their duties at home. A third category was women's economic exploitation, expressed by husbands taking their salaries, accumulating debt in their wife's name, and using their wife's wedding endowments for own purposes. A last category was husbands' refusal to financially contribute to necessary household expenses, which hindered investments in children's education and adequate coping with health emergencies. We identified important linkages with other forms of domestic abuse., Conclusion: Economic abuse has the potential to trap women in abusive relationships. Effective interventions to reduce economic abuse and economically empower women such as financial inclusion programmes are urgently needed. Stricter penalisation of dowry-related violence and spousal abuse is also required., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

This paper discusses the transition from a national focus on food security during the last half of the 20th century to an emerging strategy on helping small-scale farm households increase farm income to reduce rural poverty. The basic proposition is that if extension is going to help increase farm incomes and rural employment, then it must shift from being a "supply-driven" to a more "market-driven" extension system. This shift requires at least three major institutional changes. First, extension must give higher priority to high-value, labor-intensive crops/products where there is real demand in domestic and/or export markets. Second, small-scale producers must get organized into groups to achieve economies of scale and to become linked with the "value chains" that supply these markets. Third, extension planning and decision-making must become decentralized to determine the most suitable crops and/or enterprises vis-a-vis the interests and resources of different farmer groups, in light of agro-ecological conditions and available markets for different products.

This paper seeks to examine the impact of education on income growth in India for the time period 1966-1996. Education is broken down into the categories of primary, secondary, and tertiary. Time series techniques are used to determine whether education, for each category, has a causal impact on growth. Furthermore, the education variables are also broken down by gender and analysis is carried out to determine whether the causal results vary by gender. The results indicate that primary education has a strong causal impact on growth, with more limited evidence of such an impact for secondary education. Finally, the evidence is quite compelling that it is female education at all levels, that has potential for generating economic growth.

Objectives: The primary objectives were to determine the proportion of modern menstrual method (MMM) users among college going women in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu; and to estimate the unmet needs associated with use of MMMs in comparison with other menstrual hygiene methods (MHMs). We also assessed the factors that determine MMM use among college going women. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among college going women in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, India between October 2022 and January 2023 using a purpose predesigned, pretested, semi-structured proforma that included validated Menstrual Practice Needs Scale (MPNS-36). Results: Only 1.4% of the study participants used MMMs – menstrual cups (1.3%) and tampons (0.1%). Sanitary pads were the most common MHM of choice (96.3%); of which majority (98.6%) used disposable pads and more than half (50.4%) used non-biodegradable pads. Importantly, one in six (16.5%) were not aware of nature of sanitary pads (biodegradable or nonbiodegradable) used. The unmet needs associated with MMMs (menstrual cups and tampons) were significantly lower than that for other MHMs (including sanitary pads), in particular, the unmet material and home environment needs, unmet material reliability concerns, unmet reuse needs and unmet reuse insecurity. However, we found no significant difference between MMMs, sanitary pads and other MHMs in terms of unmet transport, college environment, change and disposal insecurity needs. The significant predictors of use of MMMs were age (more than 21 years of age), residence (urban), type of stay (off campus including home), socioeconomic status (upper), fathers' and mothers' education (high school and above), and presence of personal income. Discussions with friends (or peers) both before and after menarche regarding menstruation resulted in higher adoption of modern menstrual methods. Conclusion: MMMs provided comparative advantage with lesser unmet needs for material reliability and reuse insecurity concerns, particularly in home environment. However, none of the MHMs fulfilled the user expectations for transport and disposal insecurity concerns, particularly outdoors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores whether institutional change brought about by financial inclusion results in sustainable debt management by households. We analyze household indebtedness and its various dimensions using primary data collected from 600 households across 3 districts of rural Kerala in India. We find that more than half of the sample households are indebted. Using flow and stock analysis, we assess the repayment capacity of households. While the flow analysis based on interest and income comparison shows that debt is sustainable, the stock analysis indicates an alarming debt situation considering the illiquid nature of land assets. Both agricultural and non-agricultural households appeared to be caught in a debt trap. Our econometric analyses show that socio-economic factors like education and age of the household head, main source of household income and household asset value without land, are significant determinants of household level indebtedness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the impacts of Livestock Asset Transfers on the livelihoods of the ultra-poor in West Bengal, India. The programme provides the female members of ultra-poor households with livestock assets as grants. We find that the intervention increases per capita monthly income by Rs 1061 (122% increase). It also increases the food expenditures of households and enables them to secure enough food to eat at least two meals a day. Furthermore, the programme also increases the number/amount of owned livestock assets, poultry, and cultivable lands amid the treatment households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tries to investigate the question of whether the poverty ratio across Indian states is converging in the post-2000s. We addressed this question of spatial convergence of the poverty ratio using unconditional convergence over the period 2004–05 to 2018–19 for 18 major states of India, considering both rural and urban regions. We used the unit-level data of NSSO’s Consumer Expenditure Surveys (CES) for the 61st, 68th and PLFS 2018–19 rounds for the analysis. Besides, we try to assess the driving factors of poverty through a panel regression model. The results reveal that in the first period from 2004–05 to 2011–12, Indian states experienced a divergence in the overall poverty ratio and rural poverty. However, the second period, 2011–12 to 2018–19, witnessed no specific trend of convergence or divergence across states. Again, in the case of urban poverty, there is no particular pattern of poverty convergence or divergence during both periods. The study shows that the Gini coefficient, educational expenditure, household size, infant mortality, literacy rate, MPCE, primary-sector income and per capita power availability are the significant determinants of poverty in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social equity is a critical component of social justice and is measured in multiple ways. Conventionally, researchers use literacy levels, workforce participation, political participation and representation, corporate presence, and demographic parity as indicators of social and economic equity. We add law enforcement outcomes to this literature by examining the demographic profiles of convicts in prisons in India for each state and compare it with that of the population of the respective state. To test whether entrenched social inequities have permeated into the law enforcement system, we use three indicators of social identity-religion, caste, and domicile-to create a social equity index (SEI). This is a composite index combining caste, religion and domicile similar in method to the Human Development Index which combines income, education and health. Our indicators are not considered in other popular development indices and is a conceptual innovation. Our paper innovates by combining prison data and census data at the state level over the two latest census rounds (2001 and 2011). We use a spatial panel analysis as well as a distributional dynamics approach to test for bias and transitions over time at the state level. We find that entrenched social hierarchies are mirrored in conviction outcomes and that social identities influence law enforcement. In contrast to earlier studies, we find that states that are conventionally considered to perform poorly in terms of economic and human development have done better in terms of social equity than economically advanced states., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Mukhopadhyay et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This research paper is a qualitative-based work on the ethnographic study of Ema keithel of Manipur. The study put forth the after-effect of the economic lockdown of Ema keithel due to COVID-19 and the present condition of women traders after the upliftment of the lockdown. The economic data was comparatively based on the pre-COVID-19 situation and the post-lockdown period. The women in Ema keithel are predominantly the sole bread earners and providers in their families; through their income, financial expenses are sustained. However, with the sudden lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many thousands of women and their families had lost their only hope and financial support system. This study brings out the present situation of the women in the economic activities in the Ema keithel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out to investigate the effect of levels of income and ownership of assets on domestic migration. The inverted U theory points out that at low levels of incomes and wealth, households may not be able to afford the cost of migration, and hence, are left behind, leading to geographical poverty traps. This idea is tested using a household level migration choice model that attempts to explain outward migration by levels of income/wealth and other factors, including local amenities and social background. The inverted U theory breaks down at very low levels of income – there is a relatively higher probability of outward migration by households belongs to absolutely the lowest deciles of income. However, wealth, or lack thereof, does not have a similar effect on migration in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lives of rural households are predominantly based on agriculture and its allied activities. However, there are signs of an agricultural crisis resulting in dependence on alternative sources of income. This paper analyzes the factors that influence the decision of farm households to participate in non-farm activities for alternative income. The official data for two years on the Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households are explored and a pooled probit regression model is run to examine the determinants of income diversification. Our findings reveal that farm income and irrigated land negatively influence diversification. However, diversification of those having lower access to farm holdings, socioeconomic deprivation, and improved access to education, informal credit, and crop insurance point out positive participation in non-farm enterprises. In addition, the population belonging to hilly and coastal plain regions and the age group 30–64 years are more likely to diversify. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the link between trade protection and industry wage premia in India using a unique dataset combining employment survey data with industry-level data for various years between 1983 and 2000. The author finds that India's trade reforms were not distributionally neutral. The impact of protection on industry wage premia was positive and statistically significant, though modest in magnitude: workers employed in industries with high tariffs received higher wages than apparently identical workers in low-tariff industries. Because industries with high initial levels of protection were also those with the largest tariff reductions during this period and had the highest share of unskilled workers, the positive tariff-wage effect implies that the trade reforms were likely to have increased wage inequality as the relative wages of the (predominantly unskilled) workers in these manufacturing industries fell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Development Research is the property of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This paper aims to focus on the housing situation in Indian cities and the various stakeholders involved in the housing sector. This study addresses the conflict in expectations of the supply and demand side of the housing and establishes the factors crucial to making housing successful for all the stakeholders, essential for sustainable urban development. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is developed using the content analysis of preceding independent reviews on housing sustainability by authors across the globe, a review of the current housing situation in Indian cities and a Pilot study of the desired qualitative aspects of housing by the consumer group. Findings: This paper identifies the challenges and constraints of the various stakeholders involved in the housing sector. A comprehensive list of all the parameters, both qualitative and quantitative, essential for successful housing implementation, focused on the preferences of the demand side, also referred to as the "Critical Success Factors (CSFs)" is generated. The results advocate a strict consideration and integration of these CSFs with the housing policies for all future housing projects. Research limitations/implications: Most of the studies conducted in the past have reviewed the housing situation in India from the perspective of the government authorities and the initiatives undertaken by them to improve the housing crisis. However, a gap exists in achieving a balanced understanding of the supply-side constraints, with the demand-side expectations from the housing. Focusing only on the supply without adequately understanding the consumption can only lead to further chaos in the already turbulent housing situation. Originality/value: To the best of author's knowledge, this is among the first attempts to address the housing scenario in urban centers of India, simultaneously from the perspective of both the demand side and the supply side of the housing, giving additional impetus to the expectations of the demand side which are often ignored. This study becomes more relevant in the ongoing pandemic situation to be able to provide appropriate and acceptable housing solutions to all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Maternal healthcare service utilization is a pivotal indicator of a nation's progress in safeguarding the health and well-being of its women and children. In this context, women's empowerment emerges as a critical determinant influencing the utilization of maternal healthcare services. The study aims to assess the relationship between women's level of empowerment and utilization of maternal healthcare services among currently married women in India. Data and Methods: The study uses data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey conducted in 2019–2021 and analyzed 26,552 (15–49 aged) currently married women who had a live birth in the last 5 years preceding the survey. Additionally, univariate and bivariate analyses, multivariate logistic regression, and the SWPER index were used for the analysis. Results: Over the years, utilization of antenatal care, skilled birth attainment, and postnatal care has increased extensively in India. However, the study found that utilization of services was higher among empowered women, and it varies across the state with the extent of empowerment. State-level analysis shows that the extent of women empowerment was higher in Goa, followed by Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and lower in Jharkhand, followed by Tripura, so as the utilization of maternal and health care services. The extent of empowerment and utilization of services also varies by level of educational attainment, employment, and socio-economic status. Conclusion: There is a need for comprehensive strategies to enhance women's empowerment through education, employment, political participation, self-awareness, and reduction in gender-based violence and child marriages, which may improve awareness demand for better public health structure, and may ensure higher utilization of maternal healthcare services. Ultimately, these strategies may converse the higher maternal death and child mortality. Significance: What is already known about this subject? Existing literature in India mostly highlights a clear connection between women's autonomy and maternal healthcare services utilization. Women with higher autonomy, decision-making power, and mobility are more likely to use these services. However, in exploring the link between women's empowerment and maternal healthcare, some studies focus on education, employment, and media access among Indian mothers, sidelining broader empowerment dimensions. What this study adds? This study is likely the first to investigate the relationship between women's empowerment and the level of maternal healthcare service utilization in India. It covers key dimensions of women's empowerment, including Attitude to Violence, Social Independence, and Decision-making Power. Moreover, it is possibly the first Indian research paper to employ a survey-based women's empowerment index in this context. Notably, the assessment highlights Social Independence as a significant dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the association between income inequality and environmental degradation has been researched extensively by various scholars, the impact of income inequality on the consumption of renewable energy, however, remains unanswered in the existing literature, the reason why the investigation of the same has been attempted through this study. Apart from income inequality, this paper also explores the impact of per capita income, consumption of nonrenewable energy and human capital development on the consumption of renewable energy, using a Nonlinear Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model on the data pertaining to India for the period 1980–2016. This study concludes that while the increased income inequality results into reduction in the renewable energy consumption, the increased per capita income and human capital development, on the contrary, lead to an increase in the renewable energy consumption. Similarly, the impact of decrease in per capita income on renewable energy consumption was found to be negative and significant. Lastly, the nonrenewable energy consumption, showing the characteristics of a substitute, was found to have an inverse & significant relationship with renewable energy consumption in both upward as well as downward direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the spatial spillover effects of built environment features on household car and motorcycle ownership through aggregate ward-level analysis and household-level disaggregated analysis. Using a primary data collected in Hubli-Dharwad city in Southern India, the paper estimates Spatial Durbin models to assess the direct and spillover effects of socio-economic characteristics (household income, the number of children and household size), built environment characteristics (population density, diversity, distance, and subjective built environment measures), travel attitudes (pro-car, pro-NMT and pro-public transport), and commute behavior (distance and time) on household car and motorcycle ownership. The paper finds that spatial dependencies exist in both aggregate and disaggregate levels of analysis. There is a significant spatial dependency in car ownership due to household income, household size, the number of children, and pro-car attitude, and the correlations are significant in both aggregate and disaggregate levels of analysis. The positive lag effects of these variables suggests that socio-economic settings and attitudes of neighboring wards affect car and motorcycle ownership in a ward. The effects of diversity on car and motorcycle ownership maintain similar correlations in both levels of analysis. The likelihood of motorcycle ownership increases with improvements in diversity, while car ownership likelihood decreases. The study also shows that the spatial effects of built environment features could vary between the aggregate and disaggregate levels of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On-the-job training (OJT)1 is important for both the organisation and the employees. It provides new skills, learning opportunities, and career mobility to the workers. From the employers' perspective, OJT helps in increasing productivity and efficiency of operations. In India, informal training at workplaces is the common and traditional way of acquiring requisite skills and expertise. However, formal training by the employers or the State agencies which involve formal assessment and certification is still rare. In the context of India, very few studies have looked into the determinant factors behind the access to OJT by the workers and its impact on their earnings. The present paper touches upon some of these aspects using the Period Labour Force Survey of National Statistical Office (PLFS, 2017-18). The study finds that access to OJT is highly associated with sector and enterprise types. Other factors that influence workers' access to OJT are: the place of residence, educational level, age, and gender. Although OJT improves the earnings of the workers, there exists a wide gender inequality in earnings even among the OJT-trained workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the effects of five distinct factors, which are responsible for high incidents of suicides among farmers in India. The study analyses the effect of ratio of net irrigated area to net sown area, average yield per hectare and expenditure by the households, and credit advanced to the farmers and proportion of food grain crops and non‐food grain crops on farmer's suicides. The study uses a panel data over 17 years (from 2001–2002 till 2017–2018) for all 28 states. The study finds that an increase in ratio of net irrigated area to net sown area, average yield and credit advanced to the farmers reduces the number of farmer suicides, whereas farmer's household expenditure and proportion of food to non‐food crops have no significant effect on suicides. Furthermore, the paper suggests that there are increased incidences of suicides by the farmers every year and the government need to amend its existing agricultural policies and work for the economic and social well‐being of the farmers, thus preventing suicides at a larger scale. The study also draws a comparison with Chinese policy at local level which may be implicated in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture in India today is facing acute problems from production to marketing aspects. Hence, it is needed to supplement the income of rural folk and the Indian farmers should find an alternate means of livelihood. Since, agriculture is the main occupation of the people in India there is a need to think of allied income generation strategies with agriculture, agro tourism is one such approach. This approach has got lot of potential by utilizing the local resources to its fullest potential. It also has the capacity to generate a marginal or supplementary source of income and also creates employment opportunities to the farmers. Hence it acts as an alternative means and ways of livelihood security to the farmers. The study was conducted in Ramanagara district of Karnataka with an objective of analyzing the impact of agro tourism on livelihood security of farmers. This study aims to provide much needed empirical data about livelihood security of farmers in agro tourism centres. Results from a survey of 32 farmers of the selected study area indicated that majority (59.38 %) of the farmers belonged to the medium category of overall livelihood security followed by 28.12 per cent of the farmers belonging to the low and 12.50 per cent of the farmers belonging to the high category of livelihood security. The mean livelihood score under different factors influencing the livelihood security of farmers in agro tourism is also presented in this paper. The findings highlights the agro tourism can be effectively implemented, if the idea is promoted and widely adopted, it not only enhances livelihood security of the farmers but it also serves as a value addition and can accelerate further economic growth of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to validate the measurement model of financial literacy in which financial literacy is a second-order construct with financial knowledge, financial attitude and financial behavior as lower-order constructs. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on the primary data collected from 536 adult respondents of Punjab, India. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) has been used in the study. Findings: Financial knowledge, financial attitude and financial behavior have significant correlation with each other and they converge to form a second-order construct–Financial Literacy. The model of financial literacy as a second-order construct (using CFA) is the perfect fit. The study also highlights that the financial literacy level of people differ significantly depending upon the age, gender, marital status, area of residence, qualification, monthly family income, employment status. Practical implications: The study has major implications for policymakers. It confirms the claim that financial literacy is a combination of three components–financial knowledge, financial attitude and financial behavior. The national as well as international regulatory agencies working to promote financial literacy should realize that the overall financial literacy of people can be improved by imparting financial knowledge along with inculcating positive financial attitude and financial behavior among the masses. Originality/value: The present study is the first study to validate financial literacy as a multidimensional model in the context of India to the best of our knowledge. The study contributes to the extant literature in the field of financial literacy by providing a strong framework for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to assess the knowledge on use of diaper and its impact on child health among mothers of infants. The objectives of the study was to assess the knowledge on use of diaper and its impact on child health among mothers of infants and to find out the association between the knowledge onuse of diaper and its impact of child health among the mothers of infants and selected socio personal variables. Non experimental descriptive study design was used in the study. The data was collected by using a semi structured questionnaire. The collected data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result shows that out of 50 samples majority of the children are of age range 0-2 months, 52% were male children and was first born (54%). Majority of the sample are at age group 26-30 years (36%), 58% samples are educated upto graduate level, 42% of samples were housewives and 48% have family income above 30,000, 94% of children were using disposable diapers ,42% of children using diapers for 3-4 hours and 80% children had no exposure to diaper rash. Among the samples, 56% of mother had moderate knowledge, 34% of mothers had poor knowledge and, 10% of mothers had good knowledge. There is significant association between the age of mother and occupation of mother and there is no association between age of child, sex of child, birth order of child, education of mother, income of family, type of diaper used, duration of diaper used, previous exposure to diaper rash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the time-varying effects of fossil fuel consumption on CO2 emissions in India utilizing the time-varying cointegration test, allowing for multivariate long-run time-varying cointegration parameter developed by Bierens and Martins (2010) and the time-varying vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) model developed by Primiceri (2005). The long-run time-varying coefficients reveal that GDP has a positive and increasing impact on CO2 emissions over time. Moreover, results confirm the polluting effects of all fossil fuels. Besides, the TVP-VAR model findings also demonstrate that changes in income and fossil fuel consumption have a positive and significant impact on environmental degradation. Coal is found to be the most polluting fuel, followed by oil consumption. Furthermore, the time-varying responses show that increased natural gas consumption has the least influence when compared to other fossil fuels on CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]