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This article undertakes a socio-legal analysis of India's changing labour laws and situates migrant workers within the broader context of the changing relations between state, capital, and labour amid the reforms that were introduced in 2019–2020. It illustrates the precarity of migrant workers and the possibility of their legal exclusion from the revised labour codes, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic-led lockdowns. The new codes reduced the number of establishments under regulation and diluted provisions that can hold contractors and employers accountable, which increases the scope for exploitation of workers and has serious implications for the rights of migrants. The labour law reforms, we argue, appear to have favoured capital in its relations with workers and have increased the degree of informality in a wide range of industries. Inter-state migrant workers may find themselves excluded from protective provisions that hold employers accountable for their treatment and this may make them more vulnerable in the informal sector. The article concludes that this push by the state to boost the 'ease of doing business' via precarious forms of employment and whittling away the protections of inter-state migrant workers may be far more detrimental than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed several chinks in the armour of public health infrastructure across the world. However, the impact of the pandemic has been assessed primarily from the perspective of the 'privileged' members of society. The experiences of the 'other' world inhabited by the marginalised communities, who have had their livelihoods crushed under the weight of the pandemic, have been scarcely documented. As thousands of migrant workers were more scared of death caused by hunger rather than the disease itself, the various steps taken by different countries to curb community transmission have unveiled the ugly side of these measures. For example, as several states such as the US, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India/Bharat imposed lockdowns, border closures, quarantines, inter alia, the most vulnerable section of the human population has been the migrant workers, especially those individuals who were employed in the unorganised sector. Thus, the global health crisis has unravelled deep-rooted deficiencies, racial biases, and an overall lack of concern and empathy for the lesser privileged, apart from the growing socio-economic divide between the rich and the poor. This research paper aims to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant workers in the informal sector by exploring the measures imposed by the US, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India/Bharat and analyse how their fundamental rights, including the right to development, were compromised. Through this paper, the author provides a five-point strategic framework that can be adopted globally to prevent such instances in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the consequences of the COVID‐19 pandemic‐induced lockdown on the socio‐economic status of 212 female migrant workers employed in the informal sector, originating from four underprivileged districts of West Bengal, India. The study assesses the changes in their scope of employment, financial instability, and the level of violence experienced within households and workplaces in the pre‐pandemic and post‐lockdown phases. We apply the binary logistic regression to identify factors influencing their low employment scope, the t‐test to observe changes in their income as a consequence of the pandemic, and the Wilcoxon signed‐rank test alongside effect size analysis to detect any rise in experiences of violence and exploitation against women. The findings suggest a notable decrease in their employment scope due to the absence of previous jobs, low wages, insecure workplaces, and family constraints; a decline in earnings; and an increased incidence of violence against them. The research suggests designing reforms to improve the current situation of female migrants, who represent one of the most marginalized sections of society. Formalizing the labor market and ensuring proper registration of these women would enable them to gain access to social security benefits, pension schemes, and relief packages that are vital for their well‐being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the intertwining relationship between informality and education-occupation mismatch (EOM) and the consequent impact on the workers' wages. In particular, we discuss two issues — first, the relative importance of informality and EOM in determining wages; and second, the relevance of EOM for formal and informal workers. The analysis reveals that although both informality and EOM are significant determinants of wages, the former is more crucial for a developing country like India. Further, we find that EOM is one of the crucial determinants of wages for formal workers, but it is not critical for informal workers. The study highlights the need for considering the bifurcation of formal-informal workers to understand the complete dynamics of EOM especially for developing countries where informality is predominant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most governments around the world are fostering innovation and entrepreneurial systems with a prominent role for venture capital (VC) support policies. However, the debate about the role and impact of VC support policies is still focused on the countries of the Global North. In this context, this paper seeks to describe and analyse the role that the state has played in the emergence and development of the VC industry in India and Brazil, two of the biggest economies of the Global South. We adopt a systemic and evolutionary perspective under the general context of a renewed role for the state in financing innovation. We offer interesting questions and implications to discuss the challenges, scale and impact that could be expected from VC industry support policies in the Global South countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The India–Bangladesh border is the world's fifth longest land border, a focus of political tension in an area with vibrant informal economies. Cross-border communities share culture and language and informal cross-border trade (ICBT) is well-established. This article explores ICBT on the Indian side of the border, examining its actors, power relations and spatial dimensions, and the vulnerabilities of those involved. Debates on the social and cultural roots of ICBT, and the vulnerability of small-scale entrepreneurs to a complicit state, and powerful middlemen in lucrative sectors of ICBT, inform the analysis. The trade is theorized through the lens of jugaad, the Indian term for 'making do' and 'instinctive creativity'. The research draws on case studies of three cross-border sectors, everyday trade in small household goods, the politically sensitive cattle trade, and cross-border medical/healthcare services. The mechanisms of jugaad are seen to some degree in all three case studies, but heavy state regulation gives advantage to controlling middlemen and state officials. Finally, we argue that ICBT is a critical component of the wider political economy in the border regions of West Bengal, and that the forgotten sector of ICBT could, if supported by light-touch regulation, have important poverty-reduction potential in enabling livelihoods for marginalized border communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several developing economies have been generating fast growth, but formal employment generation remains a concern, causing a significant workforce to continue working in the informal sector. In this context, this study investigates the employment effects of international trade and in‐house R&D in the Indian case. Our attempt is important because India is not only the largest country in terms of population but also the largest working population in the world. We coalesce industry‐level data from two different sources for the period 1991–2018 and employ a powerful system GMM estimator in the analysis. Our findings are interesting and vital. We show that although the role of trade is overall positive, export and import have contrasting roles individually in generating employment. Most generally, exporting is a generator of employment, while importing causes a loss in it. Our analysis implies that the interplay of trade, and individually that of exports and imports, with in‐house R&D depends on many factors and may be more intricate than previously assumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millions of skeletal remains from South Asia were exported in red markets (the underground economy of human tissues/organs) to educational institutions globally for over a century. It is time to recognize the personhood of the people who were systematically made into anatomical objects and acknowledge the scientific racism in creating and continuing to use them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries like India, the majority of the workforce is informal. There is no specific study about the important factors that influence the consumption expenditure of informal workers working in urban areas. The purpose of this paper, thus, is to identify the determinants of the consumption expenditures of urban informal workers, and the same is explored with respect to migration and gender. In this regard, a primary survey was conducted at the household level of the informal sector workers following the method of multi‐stage stratified sampling. The method of analysis of variance and a binary logistic regression model is employed. The inferences of the study explained that the expenditure pattern of the informal worker depends on socio‐economic factors—age group, income level and essential commodities like milk, kerosene, oil and child education. The study also highlights the fact that the informal workers are dragged into the web of a vicious circle of poverty due to a higher level of consumption expenditure than income and demonstrates the effect of betel‐tendu leaf mini cigarette‐tobacco‐alcohol. Hence, it is desirable that the policymakers should frame a regulated subsidised pricing policy for essential commodities as well as increase the minimum wage rate in order to strengthen the basic consumption expenditure of the informal workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 91% of India's workforce of 520 million is informal, lacking social insurance. However, this paper finds the Social Security Code 2020 wanting, but with potential for universalizing social insurance. The paper spells out the principles that should guide social insurance for informal workers; and presents the design and architecture for extending coverage. It shows how realistically, over the next 10–15 years, social insurance could cover the entire workforce, in accordance with ILO Conventions. It also estimates the fiscal cost of social insurance, for the first five years, and spells out the political economy, fiscal and administrative challenges to universalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subcontracting relations have often been considered a key channel to facilitate growth in traditional informal enterprises and enable them to transition into larger, modern enterprises. Such relations are expected to strengthen with economic growth. Using nationally representative survey data for the Indian informal manufacturing sector, this article examines the nature and patterns of subcontracting linkages for informal family‐based household enterprises over the high‐growth period of 2001–2016. The article estimates the net accumulation fund (NAF) for these enterprises, which measures their ability to accumulate, and studies the transition possibilities of subcontracted enterprises over time. Results show that the NAFs of subcontracted enterprises remained much lower than those of non‐subcontracted ones, with the disparity growing over the growth period. A vast majority of subcontracted household enterprises are embedded in relations that are akin to a traditional putting‐out system, with little control over their production processes. Female‐owned enterprises and those located within the household are more likely to be in such put‐out relations. Average NAF for put‐out household enterprises has been lower than for relatively autonomous subcontracted and non‐subcontracted firms, although over time the gap in NAF between put‐out and non‐put‐out firms, and thus their differential ability to transition, has narrowed. The prevailing nature of subcontracting relations in India's informal economy, even during the peak growth period, appears to be starkly different from the dynamic linkages that are celebrated in the literature as a channel for facilitating growth and transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic was not only a global health emergency but an economic crisis, adversely impacting global economic activities and posing a long-term impact on human livelihood. The pandemic also disturbed the earning competencies of the population, among which the marginalized communities were tremendously affected. In this respect, informal sector workers are marginalized and badly affected by the pandemic. This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods of informal workers in the Kolkata, the third most populated urban agglomeration in India, which was one of the epicenters of COVID-19 in the country. The study mainly based on primary field survey data collected through a well-designed questionnaire and in-depth interviews. A total of 90 participants were selected using purposive sampling, which consisted of six groups of informal workers, i.e., train hawkers, street food vendors, domestic helps, workers in medicine shops, vegetable sellers, and fish sellers were selected. Out of the six groups of informal workers, the first three are from non-essential services, and rest of three are from essential services. For measuring the impact of the pandemic on the livelihood of informal workers, a Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) was prepared by modifying the DFID's Sustainable Livelihood Framework. The LVI is a cumulative outcome of three sub-indices, i.e., Adaptive capacity Index, Sensitivity Index and Exposure Index, comprised of sixteen variables. The results reveal that workers engaged in non-essential services suffered more due to the pandemic, and their livelihood became more vulnerable in comparison to the workers engaged in essential services. Another striking observation is that female informal workers are more vulnerable than their male counterparts, irrespective of the nature of services. The study emphasizes the need for livelihood security policies to protect informal workers from similar future crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: According to the Government of India's Ministry of Labour and Employment Report (2015), almost 90% of the Indian workforce can still be categorized as informally employed, generating approximately 50% of the national product. Challenges with data availability have made a rigorous analysis of the informal economy in India often difficult and inadequate for policy formulations. This study aims to fill the gap by providing an empirical analysis of the informal economy in India using micro-data from the World Bank's Informal Enterprise Surveys. Design/methodology/approach: The authors contribute by empirically testing the association between the adoption of digital technology (payments) and firm performance proxied by firm sales. Matching models are used to mitigate sample selection bias arising out of simultaneous sample selection. Findings: The results suggest that the participation in digital platforms, namely, use of digital payment instruments, is associated with higher sales for firms. The results of this study also show that adoption of digital payments helps in both situations – whether a firm has been using digital technology or has just started using it since the outbreak. Research limitations/implications: More in-depth data over time, spanning across more cities of India, is needed to conduct a further detailed investigation. Social implications: The results should allow policymakers in India to reconsider youth-centric and women-centric business needs, even within the informal sector, which does not often enter the purview of the government but remains responsible for the growth and sustenance of 90% of the country's workforce. If further research on this issue could engage with the impact of demonetization of currency in 2016 as a lagged shock on sales and reestimate subsequent growth, it would perhaps offer a wider spectrum of how the performance of the informal economy in India affects the entire economy, which has over the last four years and before the onset of Covid reported slower growth. Originality/value: Productivity is measured in terms of sales of informal firms in India in a regular month or in recent period like last month. Adoption of technology such as making payments using digital platforms can enhance productivity of firms by lowering standard transaction costs and time spent for visiting banks or financial institutions. Albeit not extensively, the literature has investigated digital technology adoption in the context of firms achieving comparative advantage (D'Ippolito et al. 2019; Scuotto et al. 2017), firms generating value creation (Magistretti, Dell'Era and Petruzzelli, 2019), and in helping with strategic initiatives and agility of firms (Ghezzi and Cavallo, 2018; Piccoli and Ives, 2005). Nonetheless, it would incur certain fixed costs, including acquiring skills and awareness, to manage digital platforms. In addition, physical access to instruments such as smartphones or computers and internet connectivity are prerequisites for productivity enhancements. Firms belonging to the informal sector in India generally face these challenges but may also benefit significantly following successful adoption. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to conduct a preliminary empirical analysis of the impact of digital technology adoption on the performance of informal sector firms in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With a population of over 1.4 billion surpassing China's in 2023, India has now become the world's most populous country. Despite its robust IT and service sectors propelling it to become the fifth‐largest economy, India still grapples with low GDP per capita and significant poverty. The paradoxical nature of India's development necessitates a closer examination of its governance. Over 90% of the Indian population works outside the purview of formal democratic institutions and capital‐intensive economic sectors. Challenges arise from the need to sustain a large poor population with limited resources while catering to the formal sector that generates more than half of its GDP. India's governance exhibits a deep mismatch between its institutional design, politics and developmental needs. This article explores the duality of informal and formal sectors underlying challenges in Indian governance by way of the Berggruen Governance Index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India demonetized the currency in November 2016, scrapping 86.9 percent of the currency in circulation. This policy disrupted most economic activities because India was predominantly a cash economy. Purpose: The study aims to analyze the impact of demonetization on the informal-formal sector and the Indian stock markets, where investment reflects investors' confidence. Another purpose is to know the usefulness of demonetization in the proliferation of digitalization. Study design/methodology/approach: The study incorporates primary data to determine the impact on informal and formal workers' income and the acceptance of digitalization in rural-urban areas in Faridabad, Haryana. A survey was conducted, and samples for informal-formal workers and rural-urban households were collected and analyzed using the F test and the ANOVA model using an independent dummy or qualitative variables. The secondary data of the Indian stock market were empirically tested and forecasted using the Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (ARCH) model. Finding/Conclusions: The empirical analysis reveals that after demonetization, informal workers' earnings dropped significantly, and there is a substantial income disparity between informal-formal workers. A wide gap persists in adopting digital transactions due to low awareness of digital instruments in rural areas compared to urban areas. On the contrary, no significant impact is noticed in the Indian stock market as the forecasted value of shares trading depicts positive growth. The study identifies the gaps in policy implementation. It exposes the implementation of macroeconomic policies ensuring the protection of the interest and livelihood of economically vulnerable populations. The spread of awareness towards electronic transactions may help to promote digitalization Limitations/future research: The study is limited to a few areas. Hence, the scope of future research rests on macro-level data where comparison could be conducted between rural and urban areas across various states in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: The development of human capital is a priority for most nation states, accelerated by the COVID‐19 global pandemic. In the context of reimagining a "new normal" post‐COVID, we reconsider the concept of human capital, and focus on knowledge, skills, and training of individuals in order to capture aspects of inclusive development. Purpose: This paper shows how the perspective of women, informal sector workers, representing some of the most marginalized workers in society, informs and improves our understanding of human capital and its development and utilization. Methods and approach: Our findings are derived from field‐based research conducted over the summer of 2021 in which multiple (virtual) focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with selected members of the Self‐Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in India. Findings: Through our FGDs, the participants provided new perspectives and insights into our knowledge of human capital, emphasizing the importance of social protection programmes, gender equity, ongoing training opportunities, decentralized supply chains, and income security. Perhaps most significantly, the benefits accrued to women through being organized have been key to unlocking their human capital potential. Policy implications: Our research highlights themes that are often overlooked in the literature or are beyond the scope of more narrow conceptualizations of human capital. We show that human capital is tightly interwoven with other forms of capital (community assets), and hence efforts to build the former cannot be achieved in isolation from attending to the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women entrepreneurship literature is blooming and largely indicate the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in setting up and scaling businesses. Much of the research on women's entrepreneurship revolves around entrepreneurial activities in the formal sector. Women entrepreneurship in the informal sector is still less explored. In this study, we explore the enablers and benefits of digitalisation among women entrepreneurs in the informal sector in the Indian context. We employ a qualitative study to unravel the experiences of women entrepreneurs (n = 30). Data were collected through interviews, and analysis was carried out through Voyant tools and Atlas.ti. Findings revealed that respondents attempted to bricolage with existing resources to run and manage their businesses. Family support, social influence, and willingness to learn emerged as key enablers of digitalisation. Digitalisation benefitted women entrepreneurs in several ways including ease of transaction, getting feedback, selling and promoting their offerings, and business collaborations. Based on the findings, a model of enabler, purpose, and benefits of digitalisation is proposed. Findings are discussed in the light of existing literature and future research agenda is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarship on social entrepreneurship primarily reduces social enterprises in the Global South to geographic variations of an idealized concept of combining commercial imperatives with social missions. In the article, I see social enterprise practice in economies of the Global South, namely India and South Africa, as channels to engage in the ongoing theorization of the field. The article draws on the frame of actually existing neoliberalism, moving beyond macroperspectives and policy imperatives on social entrepreneurship to show how neoliberal rationalities are mobilized and regulated by emancipatory rationalities and agendas. The empirical focus is on social enterprises mediating enterprise formation to address employment concerns in the informal, noncapital domains of India and South Africa. I draw on data from the ethnographic fieldwork on mediating social enterprises collected during my doctoral research. The lived realities of practice of the two intermediaries considered in the article, Dhwani in India and EntShare in South Africa, show mediating social enterprises in ongoing negotiations with capital and noncapital domains. Understanding the negotiations explains the convergences and divergences in how neoliberal economic rationalities align with progressive and emancipatory agendas and values across India and South Africa. In doing so, the article provides an opportunity to enrich conceptual registers of postcolonial economic geography by tracing and articulating mediation processes between neoliberal and nonneoliberal rationalities not solely from one site but across contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extensive research on waste management has primarily remained confined to metro cities and focused on economic and environmental issues. The present study explores waste management in smaller urban areas from an institutional standpoint, mapping formal and informal players onto a two‐dimensional framework: institutional type and institutional strength. The analysis is based on data accumulated through in‐depth interviews and focus group discussions in three towns of India. Despite the absence of formal acknowledgment, it establishes a continuum between formal and informal actors whose efforts to collect waste and provide public goods and services are mutually supportive. Although the informal sector is ranked lower, there is little variation in institutional strength between the formal and informal sectors. A formal‐informal hierarchy hinders informal waste collectors from moving up the value chain. The paper argues against separating the formal and informal actors in urban policy and planning. A waste management system that is formally integrated is required to extract greater economic value from waste and to strengthen the informal‐formal continuum. This should enhance both the wages and working conditions of waste workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In urban informal economies, waste-pickers increasingly face threat to their livelihoods due to the rapid emergence of formal systems of waste collection and lack of adequate public policies for their welfare. In this context, the study explores livelihood conditions of domestic waste-pickers and their occupational and educational mobility in Chandigarh, which is often referred as one of most well-planned cities of India. Using a semi-structured schedule, a field-based survey of the waste-pickers brings out that waste-pickers are the migrant workers from adjoining states and work as waste-pickers mainly due to non-availability of alternative employment opportunities. Employment in waste-picking is characterized by informal service charge fixation purely through interaction between house-owners and waste-pickers, where their low bargaining power leads to a surprisingly low level of income with significant variations due to gender. Child labour, even though disguised, also tends to exist. The study reveals unsafe working conditions, awful health conditions and unpleasant living conditions of the waste-pickers along with trivial upward educational mobility and no upward occupational mobility. The analysis presents a classic case of failure of both market and state in delivering optimum economic welfare to waste-pickers even in case of well-planned and highly urbanized city such as Chandigarh of India and demands immediate public policy intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the contradictions of neoliberal urbanism in the context of Indian cities. Focusing on gated neighborhoods as a quintessential feature of neoliberal urbanism, it unpacks the changing meaning and significance of gated neighborhoods (GNs) and their representative organizations, the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), in mediating the relationship between the propertied middle classes and the urban poor. A few decades into the making, I argue that neoliberal urbanism is beginning to produce contradictory outcomes through its specific elements such as the GNs. Using the case of domestic workers, I show that domestic workers are performing collective actions and targeting GNs as a whole. Domestic workers' actions are subverting the purpose of physical features and institutional features of GNs to their advantage as workers. How can middle-class residents' tools of control and exclusion become the new means of power and resistance for a section of the urban poor—domestic workers? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home-based work is among the largest forms of employment in the informal economy in India and is overwhelmingly represented by women. Employing a social reproduction framework that reframes what is counted as labor, this article asks how women's unpaid work activities are appropriated as labor in subcontracted home-based work. Applying this analytical framework, it becomes clear that domestic work in the home, often completed by women, is needed and exploited in this production process as a result of gendered constructs of care. The contribution considers how unpaid work is directly appropriated by capital as surplus value. The context of informal work is key here because of the irregular and fragmented production process, the space where work occurs, and the use of unpaid family workers. The goal of this research is to offer empirical evidence that broadens analytical perspectives to account for the context of informality in the Global South. HIGHLIGHTS Subcontracted home-based work in India relies on a gendered, fragmented, and precarious labor force. Unpaid caregiving and household work directly contributes to profit-making. Western analytical concepts of the economy need to be reexamined in the context of the postcolonial informal economies. Research tools that measure economic participation need to capture how unpaid activities directly or indirectly contribute to economic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subcontracting occurs when a producer outsources a part of its production. We study the effect of subcontracting from a firm with buyer power on the profits of subcontracted upstream firms, and how profits vary on the basis of location of firm and owner's gender. Subcontracting is the treatment in our study and the dependent variable is the ratio of Gross Value Added to Sales adjusted or unadjusted for wages. The decision of a firm to subcontract or not is endogenous, so we cannot use OLS regression. Since we cannot have information on a firm being treated and non-treated at the same time, we use the Average Treatment Effect on Treated (ATET) model with Nearest Neighborhood Matching (NNM) approach, in which each treated firm is matched to an untreated firm which is its nearest neighbor on other parameters, to see the effect of treatment on outcome variable on the treated group had they been not treated. We find the existence of a subcontracting premium where being in a subcontracting relationship is beneficial for the informal sector firm, though the magnitude of this premium is small, and female-headed firms gain less from subcontracting. Subcontracted male-owned firms earn a higher premium but also pay more wages out of their total revenue to labor as compared to female-owned firms, perhaps because the latter are more likely to be Own Account Manufacturing Enterprises (OAME) which do not employ hired workers. Our results show that buyer power of the subcontracting firms is offset by the benefits they provide to the subcontracted firms, possibly in the form of assured demand and payments. Thus, policies favoring the informal sector firms need to incorporate the benefits of subcontracting by exploring alternative modes of distribution with lower distribution margins, such as cooperative societies or online platforms for example Amul, MEESHO. Policies should also focus on reducing the profit margin differential between male and female owned firms by formulating a proper channel using mass media to communicate credit information and updates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the recent surge in employment figures in India, which is quite unexpected due to several economic disruptions, including COVID-19. This has raised numerous questions regarding the quality and conditions of these newly generated jobs. The findings clearly indicate a rise in the share of unpaid family workers, especially among women in rural areas, while the proportion of regular employment has declined in recent years. Additionally, there is a predominance of informal employment and workers in the informal sector, which is also on the rise. These trends indicate a rise in distress-driven employment and a partial recovery of the labour market post COVID-19. Addressing these challenges requires urgent policy interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the labour force participation among the elderly population (aged 60 and above) in India from data available for the most recent time periods. The paper reviews the types of employment, industries and occupations that the elderly in India are employed in presently and also examines the impact of different factors on the decision of the elderly to be a part of the labour force. Design/methodology/approach: Unit-level data has been extracted from the most recent data available on employment and labour force in India provided by the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), from 2017 to 2018 to 2019–2020. Binary logistic regression model has been used to identify some of the socio-economic and demographic factors that influence the odds of the elderly being a part of the labour force along with the extent of their influence, and Wald statistic has been used to examine the dynamics. Findings: The study finds that among the elderly population, males, individuals living in rural areas, those living alone, those who are currently married and those with low educational attainment are more likely to be a part of the labour force. Again, elderly females are found to be employed mostly in the informal or unorganised sector which provide minimal or nil social security benefits. Between 2017–2018 and 2019–2020, the coefficients for sector, gender, marital status, education and income are found to be significantly different. Originality/value: This paper attempts to shed some light on the scanty literature with regards to studies on the elderly in India, and also to reveal the possible factors which induce the elderly in India to participate in the labour force with the help of the most recent data available. Peer review: The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2021-0350. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay explores the relationship between scientific knowledge and democracy in India, using COVID-19 as a case study. It shows how the state consolidates itself through technological fixes, ignoring deeper issues in civil society. The essay covers the impact of COVID-19 on migrants and the informal economy and suggests that civil society needs a biopolitics from below. It discusses the need to rework concepts like citizenship and vulnerability and cautions that the epidemic has to be seen as a prelude to the deeper demands of the Anthropocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanisation has accelerated the pace of development throughout the world. Big cities provide employment and livelihood for workers because of which workers have always migrated from rural areas to cities. However, in India, most of the migrant workers are absorbed in the low-paid and low-skilled jobs in the widespread informal sector. With the outbreak of COVID-19, lockdown was declared suddenly without any notice in India during the last week of March 2019 and most of the urban informal sector workers suddenly lost their jobs, and since they had no protection, they were pushed into poverty. Detailed analysis of such losses is of utmost importance so that perfectly appropriate remedial measures can be taken by the government. Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) report of 2019-20 has analysed the situation of labour market in India for four quarters from July 2019 to June 2020. Therefore, the last quarter of the data will give us the valuable information about the urban labour market during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic period. This study analyses the possible reasons behind decline in monthly earnings and labour market participation of urban people in India during the period of outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, i.e. during the period from April 2020 to June 2020, using the data of fourth quarter from each of the PLFSs of 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 since they have identical seasonal conditions. We have used cross-tabulation method to find out employment and unemployment rates of people in urban areas according to gender and type of employment for the period, from July to June, for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020. We have also tried to find the reasons behind the decline in income of workers during the first three months of the pandemic period, i.e. during the fourth quarter of 2019-20, compared to the fourth quarter of 2017-18 and that of 2018-19 using the Mincerian wage equation. Our empirical results have shown that urban workers in India have lost jobs and suffered from significant decline in income during the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic period in almost all types of employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on results from a panel of 2778 workers interviewed during and after the 68-day hard lockdown imposed in India, the following study examines the livelihood impact of the pandemic and the extent of subsequent recovery or lack thereof. Focussing specifically on workers located in the informal economy, the study is a useful addition to the burgeoning body of work on the economic impacts of Covid-19 by providing an insight into the employment and earnings recovery of those located at the margins. These findings are spliced across socio-economic groups to showcase the differential impact of the pandemic on different demographics within the informal sector. Our results show that six months after the hard lockdown, one out five persons were still out of work. Conditioned on being employed prior to the lockdown and having lost work during the lockdown, we find that urban respondents, women, workers above 60 and graduates were significantly less likely to recover from the shock. A similar exercise carried out for women workers showed that middle aged women, never married women and women who were not-literate or educated up until primary and middle school were significantly more likely to recover from job loss. Older women, those located in urban areas and Muslim women were on the other hand significantly less likely to recover from the job loss. Earnings on the whole were half of what they used to be prior to the pandemic. Some better off workers shifted to more precarious types of employment. Given the fall in earnings, poorer worker households were forced to borrow and the amount of loan taken was multiple times their average monthly income. In the context of loss in employment and reverse migration, the survey results show a substantial unmet demand for work under the MGNREGA programme even after the lockdown was lifted. We conclude that despite a partial recovery in the subsequent period, the pandemic-induced lockdown has undermined the material conditions for subsistence for a large segment within the informal economy. Moreover, any attempts made to re-imagine what a social protection programme for the informal economy should look like must take into account the segments most susceptible to an economic shock on their livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large proportion of the older population in India constitutes an undeniable share of workforce after the retirement age. This stresses the need to understand the implications of working at older ages on health outcomes. The main objective of this study is to examine the variations in health outcomes by formal/informal sector of employment of older workers using the first wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India. Using binary logistic regression models, the results of this study affirm that type of work does play a significant role in determining health outcomes even after controlling socio-economic, demographic, life-style behaviour, childhood health and work characteristics. The risk of Poor Cognitive Functioning (PCF) is high among informal workers, while formal workers suffer greatly from Chronic Health Conditions (CHC) and Functional Limitations (FL). Moreover, the risk of PCF and/or FL among formal workers increases with the increase in risk of CHC. Therefore, the present research study underscores the relevance of policies focusing on providing health and healthcare benefits by respective economic activity and socio-economic position of older workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, E-waste is experiencing an unprecedented growth in the recent years. This growth will be fueled further by the COVID-19 pandemic owing to the new work culture where people are becoming more dependent on their electronic products than ever before. However, governance of E-waste, particularly in the Global South, has been a complex phenomenon. Considering this, the current study attempted to assess the design, adoption, and implementation of E-waste policies in India—a major electronics manufacturing hub with a massive consumer electronics market. Taking hints from theoretical concepts such as policy transfer, policy convergence, and policy effectiveness, the study addressed the primary research question: why India adopts E-waste policy approaches that seem inadequate and ineffective in its local contexts and attempts to identify alternative approaches. Through expert interviews and policy document analysis, it was observed that E-waste policy approaches in India are largely influenced by the European Union's Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. All the experts interviewed recognized absence of the informal sector in India's policy efforts of both 2011 and 2016 as a significant lacuna in the country's E-waste policy responses. In this paper, the author argues that there should be policy change towards a healthy collaboration between the informal and formal sector where best-of-the-two-worlds could be wisely used for sustainable E-waste governance in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are a major health issue for low-income countries because of their high prevalence among workers and on account of the scarcity of ergonomic preventative measures in the workplace. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of WRMSDs among weavers, assess their consequences, and analyse the associated occupational risk factors. Method: A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 257 handloom weavers using the Nordic questionnaire and the working conditions were assessed through a descriptive analysis using the key indicator method. Results: The WRMSDs annual prevalence was 85% in all parts of the body, 71% for the low back region, 41% for the shoulders, and 37% for the knees. One quarter of the weavers indicated having stopped work for 1-30 days because of their low back pain (LBP). The prevalence of WRMSDs was associated with the number of hours worked per day, the years of experience, and age. Long working hours, load carrying (> 20 kg - 25 kg), awkward postures, repetitive limb movements, and unfavourable environmental conditions were identified as occupational risk factors. Conclusion: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are common among weavers and LBP is the most frequently cited disorder and the primary reason for work interruptions and a decrease of activities. The prevalence of WRMSDs is associated with professional and personal factors. Actions based on ergonomic rules are necessary to prevent WRMSDs. Clinical implications: Our study highlights the issue of WRMSDs and the need for prevention in the informal sector, which constitutes the major part of economic activity in low-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this expository essay, we argue for building a fresh research programme in the political economy of development to analytically investigate and empirically substantiate the specificities of postcolonial capitalism. A key theoretical framework developed through the work of Kalyan Sanyal may be built upon, reformulated and productively deployed for this purpose. We provide a purposive engagement with this framework, its critiques, and the extant literature that develops it further. Some illustrations based on the agricultural and non-agricultural informal economies in India are provided to highlight the significance of this framework in examining the contemporary processes of capitalist development in the global South. The informal segments are marked by a persistence and reproduction of large swathes of non-capitalist economic spaces that are majorly structured around the logic of satisfying consumption needs, without discernible tendencies towards a classical pattern of capitalist transition. These spaces act as holding grounds of the population that is excluded from the capitalist growth poles of the economy and are often rendered as an undesired excess (as a surplus population) for the process of capitalist reproduction. Such a framework may also provide a compelling theoretical structure to interrogate the vast economic and political changes in the global landscape in the current conjuncture, and their implications for labour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the poor in the developing world work in the informal economy, that is, in occupations that take place outside of the legal system of taxing, spending, and regulating. This article examines how informal work impacts the policy and electoral preferences of the poor. We emphasize the importance of the risks inherent in informal employment in shaping the responsiveness of citizens to clientelism and their policy and voting preferences. Since most informal workers are not covered by (formal) social insurance, they prefer material goods and candidates that produce targeted, clientelistic benefits rather than programmatically delivered insurance that is unlikely to reach them. As a result, we argue that informal workers are more likely to rely on clientelistic relations as a means of hedging risks than are formal workers; prefer policies that are delivered clientelistically via political mediators rather than programmatic solutions; and prefer clientelistic over programmatic local candidates. Our findings elucidate why the preferences of poor informal workers often diverge from those assumed by standard models of social insurance and have important implications for the political economy of social policy in a world where billions work outside work-based tax-transfer systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resumen: Siguiendo el marco de Dingeldey et al. (2021), pero con un enfoque cualitativo, se analiza la segmentación legal del trabajo en China, la India, Malasia y Viet Nam, prestando atención a los niveles de exclusión y a las jerarquías de protección otorgada. El autor observa varios factores que diferencian a estos países de los del Norte y que determinan sus mercados de trabajo: el tamaño relativo de la población activa que opera fuera de la cobertura efectiva de la reglamentación laboral; la terminología jurídica, de difícil traducción a los idiomas occidentales; y la historia jurídica, especialmente en lo que respecta al desajuste entre los marcos jurídicos y el mercado laboral resultante del colonialismo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper documents developments in Indian economic performance and the role of structural change in this performance. • Manufacturing is dominated by informal labor, which has a deleterious effect on overall manufacturing performance. • Productivity growth is driven by within sector growth, with positive contributions of formal and informal activities to this. • Labor reallocation to the informal segment of the manufacturing sector is growth reducing in the Indian manufacturing sector. • A shift to more productive informal activities across sub-sectors exists, but this doesn't offset the negative within effect. This paper examines the role of structural change in India's performance, and in particular the role of the informal segment in the stagnant growth of the Indian manufacturing sector. Using counterfactual analysis – including a modified shift-share approach – the paper considers to what extent the informal sector can help explain the poor performance of Indian manufacturing over the period 1980-2011. The results suggest that the informal segment of manufacturing has been a drag on overall manufacturing productivity growth, with the informal manufacturing segment unable to provide a productivity bonus when absorbing workers from the agricultural sector. Results from the shift-share analysis indicate that labor reallocation to the informal segment of the manufacturing sector is growth-reducing, with structural change being the main source of this reduction, an effect which in turn is driven by movements of employment within manufacturing sub-sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews three veins of contributions on contemporary petty commodity production in Marxian political economy, with reference to India. Through a comparative analysis of the works of Henry Bernstein, Kalyan Sanyal, and Barbara Harriss-White, the article maps areas of commonality and contestation between the three theoretical constructions and makes a case for the merits of Harriss-White's framework over others. JEL Classification: B510, O170 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian economy is categorized as one of the fastest growing advancing economies. Much of the growth has been attributed to the industrialization process post-independence especially after economic reforms of 1990s. However, the formal industrial sector has been unable to absorb the growing labor force and thus majority of labor force have been forced to derive and find self-employment options in the informal sector. The current study is an attempt to analyze the Indian industry in light of this formal and informal bifurcation. Using the stochastic frontier analysis, the production functions are validated and technical efficiency (TE) is predicted. The study reveals that the formal industrial sector in India is relatively efficient. However, the informal sector, apart from absorbing higher number of labor force, is performing better than dictated by hitherto classic theoretic predictions. The study also analyzes the factors influencing the TE of the formal and informal sectors. The study concludes that the formal and informal sectors mutually reinforce the industrial growth in India, have positive linkages and contribute efficaciously to economic outcomes like output and employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There appears to be long silence in this field ever since the eighties. It is acknowledged perhaps that the yardstick of measuring surplus labour is highly subjective. This created serious doubts as to how to build up major theoretical and empirical conundrums on a subjective ground. The advent of efficiency analysis provided a rigid norm for defining what is "optimal" and hence "sub-optimal". However, the only problem of efficiency is that it is a radial measure. Ray (in: Hosh, Neogi (eds) Theory and application of productivity and efficiency: econometric and DEA approach, Macmillan India Limited Chennai, 2005) introduced sub-vector efficiency to tackle this problem. Basically, the sub-vector defines the input requirement set when some of the inputs are fixed. Sub- vector efficiency is conditional to the choice of the prefixed inputs. This can then be used for assessing the extent of surplus labour. This method has been used by Sengupta et al. (Sarvekshana 29(95), 20–39, 2009, 2011) on a limited sphere. Our aim is to extend this methodology to the NSSO 73rd round data, covering all the states of India and with entire informal sector. We found significant instances of surplus labour. Among the factors that explain the surplus labour are the constraints that the firm have to deal with. Smallness can curb the desire to fly with open wings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subcontracting with its employment-generating and capital-saving characteristics has the potential to play a very important role in the Indian economy by forging a mutually beneficial linkage between the organised and unorganised manufacturing sectors. Rising competition in the face of opening up of the economy has made subcontracting even more relevant in recent periods. This paper attempts to explore different aspects of subcontracting within unincorporated manufacturing enterprises in the unorganised sector using recent NSSO data. Incidence and pattern of subcontracting across regional, locational, industry groups and enterprise types have been examined. Determinants of subcontracting and its impact on the performance of the units have been explored using econometric exercises. The results indicate that the probability of subcontracting is significantly higher for larger units, in urban areas, in intermediate goods, and for units with a higher proportion of skilled workers. However, subcontracted firms are more likely to contract in size over a 3-year period compared to non-subcontracted firms. This indicates that modern aspects in terms of a larger scale of operation, better accessibility, connectivity, infrastructure, and higher skill intensity are preconditions for subcontracting but unfortunately this tied mode of production has failed to play its expected role. Though they are stepping stones to the modernisation process, they have remained as survival strategies for a large mass of unregistered units. A well-designed policy targeted to promote formal–informal linkage and change of outlook towards the phenomenon of subcontracting may go a long way in exploiting the full potential of subcontracting in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India presents a rich context for research on work and employment, epitomising the paradox of an 'emerging economy' but one where 92.4% of the workforce is informal – insecure, unprotected, poor – and women and disadvantaged groups most vulnerable. It displays a wide range of production relations in its formal/informal economy, embedded in diverse social relations, and the related forms of exploitation and resistance. This WES Themed Collection aims to review existing WES scholarship on India since 2001, identifying both gaps in scholarship and fruitful avenues for future research on India. The purpose is to showcase some of this scholarship while also advancing the internationalisation and expansion of the journal's presence in countries in the Global South. This effort is timely as decolonisation of scholarship and increased focus on the South is on the intellectual agenda, challenging established structures of power and knowledge in academia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 exposed the fragility and inadequacies in India's health care system, especially in its public health services. The sudden lockdown imposed during the first wave of the virus severely impacted the livelihoods of millions of migrant workers. Then, in spite of warnings about an impending second wave of infection, the government's failure to prepare the health infrastructure, together with delays in vaccine distribution, cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Unlike the first wave of infection, the second wave impacted rural India very badly. Taking into consideration the existing social hierarchies and inequalities, it was marginalised groups of the population who bore the brunt of the pandemic. This article analyses the failures of the Indian government in handling the Covid-19 crisis, especially during the second wave, and concludes by suggesting ways in which the state needs to intervene to avert disasters of this kind in the future. It argues for the adoption of a 'rights-based' approach to public health on the grounds that successive governments have not been properly held to account for their long-term failures to address the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the government of India has promulgated a sudden move of demonetisation. Such move can be considered as a type of forced formalization. Porta and Shleifer (2014) deals with the issue of formal informal interactions and comes out with an interesting conclusion. The informal sector does not merely exist for taking advantage of legal loopholes. Even if these loopholes are somehow stitched, the informal sector will not become formal. The clue perhaps lies in an old view expressed by Chayanov that in certain circumstances an informal sector can outperform a modern capitalist sector. This paper is a modest attempt to include this clue in a formal model of the simplest possible type that tries to unravel the relation between formal and informal sector as also the consequences of policies that leads to forced formalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most developing countries have large and persistent informal sector. Historically, the literature was dominated by strict duality viewpoint, where the formal and informal sectors are treated as two separate entities. However, in recent times, a new approach has developed where the formal and informal sectors are not binary but they often co-exist and feed into each other. Most academic work on agglomeration economies is based on developed countries where almost all production takes place in the formal sector. Apriori, there is no reason to believe that agglomeration economies do not extend to the informal sector. Hence, in this paper, we hypothesize that agglomeration economies can arise from the interaction between formal and informal firms as well. To check the validity of the hypothesis, we study the geographic distribution and Coagglomeration pattern between formal and informal manufacturing firms in India. Using the firm level National Sample Survey for unincorporated enterprises and Annual Survey of Industries data, we calculate the Ellison and Glaeser Coagglomeration index at 2-digit NIC level. Further, using the Marshall's theory of agglomeration, we create four kinds of linkages to capture the nature of interdependence between formal and informal firms, i.e. Buyer, Supplier, Labor and Technology. We find that there is heavy clustering of both formal and informal manufacturing firms in India, however, mostly in different areas, with few exceptions like Western Uttar Pradesh and Southern Tamil Nadu. Out of 22 major industries, we find high coagglomeration only in 7. The average value of coagglomeration index at aggregate level decreases from 0.00536 in 2000-01 to -0.0027 in 2015-16. This indicate towards reduced interdependence over time, however in few industries it remains high. The average value of labor linkage increased from 0.1889 in 2000-01 to 0.3651 in 2015-16, during the same period buyer linkage remained constant around 0.2481 and supplier linkage fell from 0.5755 to 0.2749. The technology linkage remained low throughout in the range of 0.02-0.03. Strong buyer and labor linkage mean subcontracting of inputs is the main motive driving the interaction between formal and informal firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the process of school-to-work transition, the role of general education and vocational education and training (VET) remains quite central. Based on the human capital theory, we estimate whether investment in VET brings additional returns for workers across the age cohorts. Design/methodology/approach: The focus of our study being the labour market in India, the data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2018–19, conducted by the National Statistical Office, has been used for analysis. We have applied the ordinary least square method with sample selection correction, the quasi-experimental technique of propensity score matching and heteroskedasticity based instrumental variable approach to estimate the returns with respect to no VET, formal VET and informal VET. Findings: Our study shows that workers with formal VET earn higher wages than workers with no VET or informal VET. The study finds that workers with informal VET do not earn higher wages than workers with no VET. Moreover, from the age cohort analysis, we have deduced that wage advantage of workers with formal VET persists across all age cohorts and, in fact, accentuates with an increase in age. Originality/value: We have estimated that VET being complemented with basic general education fetches higher returns in the labour market, especially when provided through formal channels. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, in the case of developing countries where informal VET is widely provided, this is one of the first studies that captures the return to informal VET. Lastly, complementing the existing studies on the developed countries, we have estimated the returns to VET over the life cycle of the workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes access to finance based on the usage of financial services by Indian households. Based on two rounds of nationally representative All India Debt and Investment Survey (AIDIS) for 2002 and 2012, we examine how access to credit is associated with a household's socioeconomic and demographic characteristics using Heckman's two-step approach procedure. Our results show that belonging to higher asset quintile groups has a statistically significant positive effect on the household's decision to take loans only from the formal sector in both rounds and significant negative effects on taking a loan only from the informal sector. Similarly, social and religious groups play a significant role in the decision of the household to take a loan. Households with more educated adults are more likely to take a loan. Households involved in regular wage-earning occupations in urban areas are more likely to take a loan from formal sources. Thus, the importance of policy placing greater emphasis on demand-side barriers rather than on improving the physical availability of formal financial services to promote financial inclusion in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gig work has been considered 'disruptive' by platforms for its market efficiency, but concerns around precarity of work in the Global North have been raised since the early 2000s. In India, the dominance of informal work makes precarious work the norm, thus begging the question, does gig work disrupt or extend this precarity in new directions? Based on in-depth interviews with gig workers in India, this paper explores the relations between the informal economy and platform-based gig work in India with a focus on the experiences of workers. The paper argues that, much like informal work, gig workers bear a disproportionate risk, with their work regulated by social identities of caste and gender that determine entry and exit from work. The digital mediation of work in the gig economy extends such existing social relations of informal work into gig work, especially as labour remains deregulated by the Indian state. Through this, India points us in the direction of what the future of work may be for workers in a global digitised gig economy where such precarious and insecure work is now increasingly entrenched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social capital is often argued an important non-monetized capital for poor people which can be instrumental for poverty eradication and overall economic development. This paper investigates these claims for informal workers. Based on data from a primary survey in Hooghly district of West Bengal, India, an individual level composite social capital index is calculated considering the structural-relational-cognitive dimensions of social capital. Then OLS method has been used to test the impact of social capital on income with respect to the socioeconomic condition of responders. The findings suggest that the role of social capital to improve income is limited by the poor socioeconomic condition and therefore the optimistic view about the role of social capital in poverty eradication should be treated cautiously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]