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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]

Consumption of energy is a determinant of the socioeconomic status of many citizens across the globe. The majority of rural households in India are dependent on biomass fuels. Existing data on the factors affecting fuel switching in rural India are insufficient to analyze a behavioral change among families. This paper evaluates the influence of four variables income, education, cost of fuel, and clean fuel supply on fuel adoption decisions. To understand the study population's behavioral change, a Household Survey is conducted in 20 villages (in India's rural district). Along with field observation, data are also collected on energy usage at the household level using a formal questionnaire. Binary logistic regression is applied to establish a link between the variables. Both biomass fuels and Liquefied Petroleum Gas are used mostly for cooking. The prevalence of energy stacking behavior is observed even among middle and upper‐income families. Modest evidence for the "energy ladder" hypothesis is seen, however, a "switch over" to cleaner fuels is not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tests for income convergence at the district level in India taking into account district income for 388 districts in 12 states during 2001–2011. We study income convergence among districts within a state as well districts across states that share similar initial conditions. Given the finite sample property of the data, we conduct a novel panel stationarity test with a fixed time dimension. The findings do not support the convergence of the per capita district income in Indian states. The deterioration in economic and social infrastructure in the relatively backward districts during the study period seems to drive the results. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effects of an income guarantee on borrowing in a risky setting with marked seasonality. A three‐season, infinite‐horizon model is developed, in which the aims of smoothing consumption and maintaining creditworthiness are somewhat opposed and the seasonal timing of transfers matters. If borrowing does not affect production, then larger transfers concentrated in the lean season may well lead to a contraction of the total amount borrowed over the whole annual cycle. If borrowing also finances working capital, then larger transfers make riskier positions attractive, and investment in working capital and total borrowing may both increase. These insights are tested in the context of India's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, as implemented in upland Odisha. The potential endogeneity of participation is addressed by using the female reservation for local elections as an instrument. Each day's work reduces the estimated level of borrowing in the lean season by about the regulated wage. In contrast, the estimated effect on borrowing in the cultivation season by households owning at least the median holding is to increase it by about one‐and‐a‐half times the wage; but there is no significant effect for households owning less. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economists are increasingly interested in subjective well‐being, but the economic literature on perceptions of income adequacy, which is one of the factors that shape subjective well‐being, is little. Our paper fills this lacuna. We utilize nationally representative data on perceptions of amounts considered as remunerative earnings from self‐employment in India and examine how these are earnings shaped by social identity, namely, caste. We also investigate if institutional change such as the introduction of an employment guarantee scheme alters these perceptions. Finally, we examine the relationship between caste identity and actual earnings. We find that caste identity does shape both perceptions of income adequacy and actual earnings: lower‐ranked groups perceive lower amounts as being remunerative and also earn lower amounts. Further, the employment guarantee scheme alters self‐perceptions differentially for different caste groups, but in more nuanced ways than our ex‐ante beliefs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the absence of a universal health insurance mechanism, the increasing burden of out‐of‐pocket (OOP) health expenditure has become a growing concern in India. To cope with the cost of illness, people use either their savings and income, or they have to rely upon distress means of finance such as depletion of household assets, borrowings from banks and moneylenders, and contributions from family and friends. This paper analyses the changes that have taken place in the incidence and covariates of distress financing in India by using data from National Sample Survey Organisation for the years 2004 and 2014. Results indicate that during this period the incidence of distress sources as a means to finance OOP health expenditure has hovered around 50%. Further, the results reveal a significant socioeconomic gradient in the incidence of distress financing. Socioeconomic and health‐related covariates significantly impact the likelihood of distress financing as a means to cope with OOP health expenditure. The results indicate the need for government action to formulate a comprehensive plan through an increase in public spending on health care that will improve the quantity and quality of the public health‐care system and enhance the scope of health insurance in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses spatial interaction in public spending decisions across 22 Indian states during the period 1980–1981 to 2014–2015. In particular, we estimate interactive hypotheses for different proximities of states using a spatial panel data approach. The empirical results support strong spatial interaction and yardstick competition in public spending. Interactive behavior among the states has been found to be consistent and conditional on per capita income, fiscal transfers, infrastructure, literacy and population density. Interaction arising from yardstick competition significantly affects public spending decisions. The present study realizes the need for a well‐developed and comprehensive network to strengthen the interdependence in public spending among the states for higher welfare gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmer producer companies (FPCs) have widely transformed the livelihoods of the people and mainly squeezed the income and living standard conditions in the rural sectors, specifically a primary sector engaged majorly with village economies. This article diagnoses the collective cooperative concept and formation of FPCs in the country since their establishment in the year 2008–2021. We utilized secondary data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and the outcome of the study discusses the state and zone‐wise performance of FPCs in the country. The result found that only a few zones are performing in the FPCs businesses which makes it sustainable. The study further adds the sustainable measures for performance of the FPCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the data base available in four South Asian countries, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, for the examination of trends in real inequality and poverty. Taking the position that sample surveys of household income and consumption are the only really adequate bases on which size distributions of income for a less developed country can be constructed, the paper examines in Section I the reliability of the surveys available in the four countries. Section II evaluates available price data. Section III looks at directions for future development of data collection. The conclusion is reached that sample surveys regularly conducted in these countries do not provide a particularly good basis for this type of analysis. Needed alterations include permitting access to the primary data (or redesign of published tabulations to meet the needs of this type of analysis), use of per capita rather than total household income and consumption, better coverage of regions and occupations, and exploitation of the price data implicit in the survey data collected. Further, the surveys themselves need to be overhauled, especially with regard to timing of interviews. The paper concludes with a short discussion of alternatives to estimates of inequality that can be used to measure absolute deprivation, such as the QUAC stick for identifying nutritional insufficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article asks what drives the time to repurchase for life and accident insurance contracts in low income households. We use data on customers of a financial services provider from three states in India and find that the probability of repurchase is highest in the first 2 months after the contract expires, and steadily declines after. This suggests a window of opportunity for financial firms and governments to target customers to ensure continuous insurance purchase. Nonmembership of microfinance groups and poor rainfall in the month of expiry affect the time to repurchase adversely. Customers who take longer to repurchase tend to increase the amount of insurance cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SummaryIntroduction1Definitions of ethnic groups and demographics of minority ethnic groups in the UK○ 1.1 Definitions of 'ethnic groups' and 'ethnicity'○ 1.2 Demographics and characteristics of minority ethnic groups in the UK– Countries of origin– Age/sex distribution and life expectancy– Geographical distribution and size of household– Religious beliefs– Education and employment patternsKey points2Overview of the health profile and dietary habits of minority ethnic groups in the UK○ 2.1 Available surveys○ 2.2 Overview of the health profiles among adults from minority ethnic groups– Overall health– Cardiovascular disease (CVD)– Coronary heart disease (CHD)– Stroke– Type 2 diabetes– Obesity○ 2.3 Possible causes of increased disease risk among minority ethnic groups○ 2.4 Smoking, drinking and physical activity habits○ 2.5 Dietary habits and nutritional status○ 2.6 Overview of the health profiles and dietary and health behaviour patterns of children from minority ethnic groups– Overall health– Diet and health behaviour patterns○ 2.7 Gaps in data availabilityKey points3Factors affecting food choice– Income and socio‐economic status– Food availability and access– Awareness of healthy eating– Religious beliefs– Food beliefs– Time and cooking skills– Generation and genderKey points4Traditional diets of minority ethnic groups○ 4.1 Overview of traditional diets of minority ethic groups– South Asians– African‐Caribbeans– Chinese○ 4.2 Dietary acculturation○ 4.3 Nutritional composition of ethnic‐style cuisineKey points5Nutritional interventions and health promotion among minority ethnic groups○ 5.1 Effective nutritional interventions○ 5.2 Health promotion interventions to prevent problems associated with fasting○ 5.3 Priorities for nutritional interventions and health promotion○ 5.4 Using behaviour change models○ 5.5 Current community initiatives○ 5.6 Catering for institutionalised individuals○ 5.7 Recommendations for future research, policy and practiceKey points6Conclusion• Acknowledgements• References Summary: According to the latest census, non‐white minority ethnic groups made up 7.9% of the UK's population in 2001. The largest of these groups were South Asians, Black African‐Caribbeans and Chinese. Studies have shown that some minority ethnic groups are more likely to experience poorer health outcomes compared with the mainstream population. These include higher rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes and obesity. The differences in health outcomes may reflect interactions between diet and other health behaviours, genetic predisposition and developmental programming, all of which vary across different groups. As is the case for the rest of the population, the dietary habits of minority ethnic groups are affected by a wide variety of factors, but acquiring a better understanding of these can help health professionals and educationalists to recognise the needs of these groups and help them to make healthier food choices. Unfortunately, to date, there have been few tailored, well‐designed and evaluated nutritional interventions in the UK targeting minority ethnic population groups. Further needs assessment and better evaluation of nutritional interventions have been recommended to enhance the understanding of the effectiveness of different approaches amongst minority ethnic groups. This briefing paper will provide an overview of the health profile, dietary habits and other health behaviours of the three largest non‐white minority ethnic groups in the UK, explore the factors affecting their food choices, provide a summary of their traditional diets and review the evidence base to identify the factors that support successful nutrition interventions in these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the determinants of rural poverty in India, contrasting the situation of scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) households with the non-scheduled population. The incidence of poverty in SC and ST households is much higher than among non-scheduled households. By combining regression estimates for the ratio of per capita expenditure to the poverty line and an Oaxaca-type decomposition analysis, we study how these differences in the incidence of poverty arise. We find that for SC households, differences in characteristics explain the gaps in poverty incidence more than differences in transformed regression coefficients. In contrast, for ST households, differences in the transformed regression coefficients play the more important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 crisis re‐shaped many livelihood options and placed significant burdens on those with precarious incomes exacerbating persisting vulnerabilities, especially among a large section of the migrant population. This group faced a dual threat – both to their livelihood and health. To understand the consequences of this pandemic on the income of the migrant population, a household level survey was conducted in the state of Bihar, India, which is one of the highest migrant‐sending states. We examine the role of differences in the socio‐economic status of migrants and their households in determining the extent of vulnerability caused by the COVID‐19 crisis. Vulnerability is proxied by the income lost by migrants during the lockdown. The results suggest that households with diversified income portfolio, larger landholdings, and those receiving government benefits suffered significantly lower income loss whereas, larger household size and greater distance from town tended to escalate income loss. Additionally, private salaried workers faced higher income loss and an increment in years of education lowers the losses significantly. It is observed that individual‐level characteristics also played a significant role in determining economic loss due to the lockdown. Our findings suggest a binding necessity to actively shape policies considering the financial insecurity of vulnerable migrants at their destination and the household members at the origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a nationally representative longitudinal survey and both absolute and relative measures of mobility, we examine the differences in income mobility across social groups in rural India over 1993–2004 and 2004–2011. We find significant differentials in income mobility that mirror the historical Indian caste system hierarchy. Conditional on having similar rankings in base‐period income distribution, the Forward Hindu Caste households have the highest (lowest) probability of upward (downward) income mobility, followed by the Other Backward Caste, Scheduled Caste, and Scheduled Tribe households. Moreover, these differentials in mobility are only partially explained by differences in household characteristics. We find similar but smaller differentials in mobility across social groups in Urban India. We also find that urban population witnessed a higher (lower) upward (downward) mobility during 2004–2011 compared with rural population. Furthermore, we find similar differentials in mobility using consumption as a measure of well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of non‐farm income on farm investment using a nationally representative dataset of 35,200 farm households in rural India. We find a heterogeneous effect of non‐farm participation on farm investment. Unconditional Quantile Regression (UQR) method has been applied to check whether farm investment differs between households with and without access to non‐farm incomes at diverse levels of farm investment quantiles. We found that non‐farm income has a positive and statistically significant impact on farm investment throughout all quantiles except the lowest quantile (0.25th quantile). Besides, we also found consistently rational results for our control variables. The results highlight the important role of non‐farm income in improving farm investment. Therefore, improvement in rural households' access to non‐farm employment opportunities could offer an effective mechanism to expedite productivity‐ augmenting investment to the farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses the role of monetary, fiscal factors, and trade openness causing variations of nominal and real interest rates in India for the deregulated regime. The autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration finds that deposit rate, lending rate, and real interest rate have long‐run associations with the monetary, fiscal policy instruments, and trade openness. The error correction model representation of the ARDL framework finds that the broad money supply negatively impacts the deposit rate and the real interest rate, while positive impacts of income on each of the three interest rates are noticed. The fiscal deficit has a significant short‐term negative impact on the deposit rate and has a positive impact on the real interest rate. The exchange rate and openness to trade lower interest rates. The econometric appraisal may be perceptive to keep interest rate in the desired trail through the judicious adjustments of the policy instruments and deficit management. The significant impact of openness to trade on interest rates is a critical issue that the macroeconomic policy may face more challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) revolution has radically improved connectivity across the globe and pervaded into most aspects of modern human life. The benefits of ICT can only be appropriated by those with access to the technology and capabilities to use the same. India's ICT adoption has been rapid since the year 2000, but with sizable disparities across the country. This study surveys the correlates of ICT adoption and its use capabilities in India. It has been observed that income, education and household demographics are strong determinants of household ICT adoption, while education, age and gender are strong classifiers for variations in an individual's ICT use capabilities. The findings will be useful for having informed discussions on taking strategic decisions to bridge India's digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing of China's and India's demographic transitions and the implications of alternative fertility scenarios are explored here using a global economic model incorporating full demographic behaviour and measures of dependency that accurately reflect the changing proportion of workers, rather than working-aged, in the total population. The baseline scenario confirms that demographic change in India may yield significant gains to future real per capita income, resulting from a continuing sharp decline in its total dependency ratio. For China, these gains are largely in the past, although the positive contribution of declining youth and working-aged dependency to future per capita income will continue to offset the negative impact of rising aged dependency through to 2030. Whilst a policy change to foster higher fertility rates and hence more rapid population growth in China might ultimately ease its dependency burden, in the short run it will increase it. In any case, such a course is contradictory to the goal of delivering improvements in real per capita income. For India, we confirm that the benefits of further fertility reductions, in the form of increased real per capita income, are substantial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine the differences in the measures of: (i) profits of an enterprise obtained from a detailed set of questions on incomes and expenses of the enterprise, versus profits obtained through a single direct question; and (ii) gross value added (GVA) obtained using the production approach as the difference between output and intermediate consumption from a detailed set of questions on incomes and expenses, versus GVA using the income approach by asking a few questions on factor incomes, and a single direct question on profits. We use data from the 56th round survey of unorganized manufacturing conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization of India during the period July 2000-June 2001. We also examine if the differences vary with the characteristics of the enterprises, and suggest further empirical research to develop suitable tools for providing accurate measurements of informal sector enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a nested multinomial logit model (NMNL), this paper estimates the choice probabilities and demand elasticities of various modal alternatives for Mumbai using 1990 trip origination and destination data. The results indicate that with an increase in the cost of private transit system, market share is reduced. The result of this experiment is highly elastic private commuting mode demand. In addition, reduction in the market share of own vehicles is larger than that of hired vehicles. The increase in the cost of mass transit system reduces its share but is inelastic. Decrease in the market share of one mode is accompanied by increase in the market share of others. Income has a positive effect on the market share of private transit modes, particularly on the own vehicles' share. Other explanatory variables such as distance have a negative effect on mass transit system and duration has a negative elasticity for all modes of transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article investigates the specification and estimation of macro rural-urban migration functions. It discusses rural sector income as a resource for migration. A utility comparison of urban and rural prospects and the estimates of inter-state rural-urban migration function for India are presented. The article suggests that rural sector income should be entered into macro migration functions in a non-linear form and that migration rates are dependent on rural sector inequality.

Serious doubts have been raised as to the validity of using cross-sectional estimates of the average propensity to consume over time. These doubts are based on empirical evidence for the United States presented by Kuznets and Goldsmith. This paper extends these considerations to developing countries by looking at the evidence for India. Simple statistical techniques, including ordinary least squares regression. Chow tests, and t-tests, are used in the estimation of the consumption functions and the formulation of hypotheses. Both India and the U.S. are seen to exhibit the same characteristic secular constancy in the average propensity to consume. For India the average propensity to consume is about 0.95 and is maintained in the face of no substantial secular increases in per capita income during the period under study (1919–1960). The same inconsistencies between time series and cross-section evidence on the average propensity to consume are found to exist for India. The permanent income theory suggested only a partial explanation of these inconsistencies and the reconciliation was achieved by a Duesenberry type explanation based on evidence for a shifting cross section consumption function over time. The data was provided by a set of Family Living Surveys for Industrial Workers: 1926, 1933–35, 1950–52, 1958–59. Finally it was noted that the cross-section consumption function in India had shifted both upwards and downwards over the period under study, in contrast to the strict upward shift for the U.S. In an economy such as India's, where secular growth is by no means assured, it is not always likely that consumers can avoid lowering previously achieved consumption standards in the face of cyclical economic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an attempt to examine the applicability of the relative income hypothesis (RIH) in terms of its various specifications proposed by Duesenberry, Duesenberry, Eckstein and Fromm (DEF), Davis and the authors (MD). Using the time series data for 1951 through 1968 the analysis has been carried out for Canada, Finland, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Philippines, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. It is found that RIH provides a fairly good representation of the consumption behaviour of all the countries included in the study. All specifications, however, do not perform equally well. DEF and Davis functions score the maximum points; MD comes at par with DEF in case of Finland, Guatemala, and India. The original Duesenberry specification performs very poorly. This lends us to conclude that the process of habit formation is continuous contrary to what is implied by Duesenberry's original specification and that consumption is a better indicator of the standard of living than income is. Estimates of the long-run marginal propensities to consume are essentially the same as those computed from the permanent income hypothesis by Singh and Drost [1970]. This lends support to the view that the two hypotheses have essentially the same long-run implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new multi‐sector growth model that features nonhomothetic, constant elasticity of substitution preferences, and accommodates long‐run demand and supply drivers of structural change for an arbitrary number of sectors. The model is consistent with the decline in agriculture, the hump‐shaped evolution of manufacturing, and the rise of services over time. We estimate the demand system derived from the model using household‐level data from the United States and India, as well as historical aggregate‐level panel data for 39 countries during the postwar period. The estimated model parsimoniously accounts for the broad patterns of sectoral reallocation observed among rich, miracle, and developing economies. Our estimates support the presence of strong nonhomotheticity across time, income levels, and countries. We find that income effects account for the bulk of the within‐country evolution of sectoral reallocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using primary survey data collected in two sub-districts of Gujarat, India, on a unique programme that trains rural women with low human capital to repair village water handpumps, we examine the effect of skills training on their socioeconomic outcomes. We find that participating in the training programme significantly increases the probability of being employed outside household farms and women's contribution to household income in the lean season. Further, we find that programme participants spend more on female-favoured consumption goods and have a greater say in household spending decisions, though only from the women's perspective and not husbands' or adult sons' perspective. Consequently, providing skills training, even for part-time employment, can have positive effects on rural women's overall socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including poverty decline in Tanzania, agricultural diversification In India and income mobility in the country.

Stunting and chronic undernutrition among children in South Asia remain a major unresolved global health issue. There are compelling intrinsic and moral reasons to ensure that children attain their optimal growth potential facilitated via promotion of healthy living conditions. Investments in efforts to ensure that children's growth is not faltered also have substantial instrumental benefits in terms of cognitive and economic development. Using the case of India, we critique three prevailing approaches to reducing undernutrition among children: an over ‐ reliance on macroeconomic growth as a potent policy instrument, a disproportionate focus on interpreting undernutrition as a demand ‐ side problem and an over ‐ reliance on unintegrated single ‐ factorial (one at a time) approaches to policy and research. Using existing evidence, we develop a case for support ‐ led policy approach with a focus on integrated and structural factors to addressing the problem of undernutrition among children in India. Key messagesEliminating child undernutrition is important from an intrinsic perspective and offers considerable instrumental benefits to individual and society.Evidence suggests that an exclusive reliance on a growth ‐ mediated strategy to eliminate stunting needs to be reconsidered, suggesting the need for a substantial support ‐ led strategy.Interpreting and addressing undernutrition as a demand ‐ side problem with proximal single ‐ factorial interventions is futile.There is an urgent need to develop interventions that address the broader structural and upstream causes of child undernutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical evidence suggests that macroeconomic growth in India is not correlated with any substantial reductions in the prevalence of child undernutrition over time. This study investigates the two commonly hypothesized pathways through which macroeconomic growth is expected to reduce child undernutrition: (1) an increase in public developmental expenditure and (2) a reduction in aggregate income ‐ poverty levels. For the anthropometric data on children, we draw on the data from two cross ‐ sectional waves of National Family Health Survey conducted in 1992–1993 and 2005–2006, while the data for per capita net state domestic product and per capita public spending on developmental expenditure and headcount ratio of poverty were obtained from the Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India expert committee reports. We find that between 1992–1993 and 2005–2006, state ‐ level macroeconomic growth was not associated with any substantial increases in public development expenditure or substantial reductions in poverty at the aggregate level. Furthermore, the association between changes in public development expenditure or aggregate poverty and changes in undernutrition was small. In summary, it appears that the inability of macroeconomic growth to translate into reductions in child undernutrition in India is likely a consequence of the macroeconomic growth not translating into substantial investments in development expenditure that could matter for children's nutritional status and neither did it substantially improve incomes of the poor, a group where undernutrition is also the highest. The findings here build a case to advocate a ‘support ‐ led’ strategy for reducing undernutrition rather than simply relying on a ‘growth ‐ mediated’ strategy. Key messagesIncreases in macroeconomic growth have not been accompanied by substantial increases in public developmental spending or reduction in aggregate poverty headcount ratio in India.Association between increases in public development expenditure or poverty headcount ratios and changes in child undernutrition, in particular, child stunting, is small to null.Reducing the burden of undernutrition in India cannot be accomplished solely relying on a growth ‐ mediated strategy, and a concerted support ‐ led strategy is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the dynamics of the income-distribution pattern in India during the post-1991 economic reforms. It considers district-level per-capita income data across agriculture, manufacturing, services, and various constituent sub-sectors, and finds evidence in favour of a uniform process of growth across sectors and regions, which has helped to reduce poverty. In particular, the article finds that growth in agricultural income and access to finance are important for this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the debate on how tax avoidance and evasion can hamper development efforts by investigating the link between profit-shifting out of developing countries and tax havens. Analysis of more than 1500 multinational corporations ( MNCs) operating in India shows that in 2010 those MNCs with links to tax havens reported lower profits and paid less in taxes per unit of asset than MNCs with no such links. This confirms the notion that when corporations have links to tax havens they enjoy higher incentives, because of the low tax rates, and opportunities to shift income because of the secrecy provisions tax havens offer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of multinational firms on the domestic agricultural sector in developing countries is controversial, in particular in India. Relying on a unique set of household-level data from the state of Punjab, we study the biggest dairy company in the world (Nestlé) in India and compare its vertical spillover effects on upstream suppliers to other market channels (informal sector and cooperatives). We find that farmers that supply informal channels are less efficient and earn lower profits per dairy animal than farmers supplying the cooperative and the multinational sector. Furthermore, we find that farmers using the multinational channel are more efficient than farmers in the cooperative channel, but equally profitable. Hence, we do not find that supplying the cooperative channel is more beneficial for local dairy farmers than supplying the multinational channel. Overall, however, dairy productivity and profitability levels are still dramatically low, with substantial scope for dairy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the relationships between rural income distributions and changes in environmental conditions in southern, western and central India between 1994–95 and 2000–01. Other than the relatively rich, we find that all income strata benefit from an improved environment, and intermediate expenditure households benefit more than the very poor in absolute terms. Higher median consumption expenditures and “richness” are estimated to increase environmental decline, but we do not find a significant impact of income poverty on local environmental health. The results do not support the “poverty trap” conjecture, with environmental degradation driving expenditure reductions that promote offsetting aforestation (which benefits the poor). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large body of literature depicts that status-based discrimination is pervasive, but is silent on how economic incentive interacts with such discrimination. This study addresses this question by designing a field experiment in a reputable arranged marriage market that is prone to strong caste-status-based discrimination. We place newspaper advertisements of potential grooms by systematically varying their caste and income and focus on responses of higher-caste females to lower-caste males. The substantive finding is that despite the evidence of discrimination, discriminatory behavior of higher-status females decreases with an increase in the advertised monthly income of lower-status males. ( JEL C93, J12, J15) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Chronic physical comorbidity is common in dementia. However, there is an absence of evidence to support good practice guidelines for attention to these problems. We aimed to study the extent of this comorbidity and its impact on cognitive function and disability in population-based studies in low and middle income countries, where chronic diseases and impairments are likely to be both common and undertreated. Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional survey of all over 65 year old residents (n¼15 022) in 11 catchment areas in China, India, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Mexico and Peru. We estimated the prevalence of pain, incontinence, hearing and visual impairments, mobility impairment and undernutrition according to the presence of dementia and its severity, and, among those with dementia, the independent contribution of these impairments to cognitive function and disability, adjusting for age, gender, education and dementia severity. Results: Incontinence, hearing impairment, mobility impairment and undernutrition were consistently linearly associated with the presence of dementia and its severity across regions. Among people with dementia, incontinence, hearing impairment and mobility impairment were independently associated with disability in all regions while the contributions of pain, visual impairment and undernutrition were inconsistent. Only hearing impairment made a notable independent contribution to cognitive impairment. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for clinical trials of the feasibility, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of regular physical health checks and remediation of identified pathologies, given the considerable comorbidity identified in our population based studies, and the strong evidence for independent impact upon functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The argument of exploitation of women workers in the labour market notwithstanding, this article examines whether women in India are unable to participate fully in the labour market because they are required to combine their household activities with income yielding jobs. They are constrained to work in the neighbourhood of their residence(the location of the residence having been decided upon by male family members), and can access jobs only through informal contacts(which usually means they end up in jobs similar to those of the contact persons), both of which reduce their bargaining power considerably. The tendency for specialized activities to be concentrated in different geographic locations of a city further restricts the possibility of women workers being engaged in diverse jobs and thus aggravates the situation of an excess supply of labour in a particular activity. Constrained choice, limited contacts of women and physical segmentation of the labour market perpetuate forces that entrap women workers in a low-income situation with worse outcomes than those of their male counterparts. Consequently with greater intensity of work they still continue to receive low wages, while residual participation in the labour market restricts the possibilities of skill formation and upward mobility. All of these factors offer a substantive basis for policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-agent general-equilibrium model is developed for explaining the mix of wage payment between cash and kind among landowners and workers. Its focus is on how, in the absence of insurance instruments but in the presence of heterogeneous tastes and attitudes toward risk among agents, the payment mix between cash and kind can serve as a welfare-improving, risk-hedging device. The model is used to determine how this optimal mix of wage payment would be affected by changes in risk-aversion, consumption preferences, technology, price risk, and production risk. While the complexity and nonlinearity of the model make it impossible to obtain clear-cut analytical results, simulation results are derived and shown to be rather robust. These results are also broadly supported by the findings of a small-scale survey of agricultural wage contracts in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most time-series studies in the area of export-led growth adopt a bivariate framework and neglect the role of terms of trade. Because the terms of trade have an important bearing on export earnings and income, the underlying models of these studies may have been misspecified. This study is the first to adopt a multivariate framework for South Asia as a region; and by including the terms of trade as an additional variable it tries to correct the misspecification bias of earlier studies. The evidence suggests bidirectional causality between real exports and real income in India, export-led growth in Pakistan and a no-causality result for Sri Lanka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This year-round case-control study investigated treatment costs and work time loss to people affected by chronic lymphatic filariasis in two rural communities in south India. About three-quarters of the patients sought treatment for filariasis at least once and 52% of them paid for treatment, incurring a mean annual expenditure of Rs. 72 (US $2.1; range Rs. 0-1360 (US $39.0)). Doctor's fees and medicines constituted 57% and 23% of treatment costs. The proportion of people seeking treatment was smaller and treatment costs constituted a higher proportion of household income in lower income groups. Most patients did not leave work, but spent only 4.36+/-3.41 h per day on economic activity compared to 5.25+/-3.52 h worked by controls; the mean difference of 0.89+/-4.20 h per day was highly significant (P<0.01). This loss of work time is perpetual, as chronic disease manifestations are mostly irreversible. An estimated 8% of potential male labour input is lost due to the disease. Regression analyses revealed that lymphatic filariasis has a significant effect on work time allotted to economic activity (P<0.05) but not on absenteeism from work (P>0.05). Female patients spent 0.31+/-1.42 h less on domestic activity compared to their matched controls (P<0.05). The results clearly show that the chronic form of lymphatic filariasis inflicts a considerable economic burden on affected individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines changes over time in household extension and its determinants in rural India. The authors use panel data for 9 years from 240 households in six villages in south India and find that household extension is associated with variables representing three factors, namely, life cycle stage, insurance and support needs. The prevalence of extended households is still high in agrarian societies such as India. Despite the advantages of living in an extended household, individuals do not live in only one type of household throughout their lives. In the article, the authors adopt a household production framework, which views an observed type of household as the result of decisions made by individuals, to accommodate their desired production and consumption goals. Age of the woman as one of the proxies for life cycle is likely to display a nonlinear relationship with household structure. In rural communities with uncertain flows of income due to climatic variations, individuals may be observed forming part of a larger household in order to cope with the increased risk of income loss.

This article examines the rural poverty and aggregate agricultural performance in post-independence India. The authors discuss the determination of incomes and poverty in a risky, agrarian economy. They analyzed the dynamic properties of the series for poverty and real per capita output, while the econometric issues and estimation strategy are taken up. Unanticipated changes in relative prices and price levels affects the incidence of poverty.

The article examines the relationship of mortality and of food intake to the droughts in Maharashtra, Western India between 1970 and 1973. It attempts to determine whether the fall in consumption was a direct result of the shortfall in production brought about by the droughts, or whether there was a lack of effective demand brought about through falling employment and declining levels of real income. The article also examines how the famine affected different socio-economic groups in rural Maharashtra.

The article highlights the results of a survey which focused on the detailed terms and conditions of agricultural labor contracts in villages West Bengal, India in 1979. It emphasizes the heterogeneity of employer-employee relationships in the villages. The modes of wage payment, intra-village and inter-village variations in wage rates and modes of wage change are discussed. The article then analyzes the employer-employee relationships of attachment and dependence.

Despite a voluminous literature on, and a growing concern for, alleviation of poverty in rural India, few analyses of chronic poverty are available. Utilizing a panel survey of rural households a characterization of the chronically poor is presented here. Contrary to some assertions in the literature, a logit analysis shows that moderately poor households faced a high risk of chronic poverty, and a subset of these were more prone to this risk than the poorest. The effect of adverse weather conditions on the risk of chronic poverty was positive but weak, while that of technological advancement was negative. The claim that the chronically poor are distinguishable not so much by low income in a year as by low variation in income over a period of time is supported by two decompositions. On the basis of the first decomposition it is shown that the chronically poor recorded the lowest variation in household income, and the bulk of this variation was due to the variation in wages over the survey period. The second decomposition, while confirming the lowest variation in per capita income among the chronically poor over the survey period, emphasizes the critical role of earnings per worker. Considering that differences in earnings per worker reflect the combined influence of differences in endowments, and in the ability to augment earnings from them, it follows that effectiveness of anti-poverty interventions is conditional on whether the endowments and/or the ability of the chronically poor to augment their earnings from them can be raised substantially. What specific interventions are necessary cannot of course be inferred from this (essentially descriptive) analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]