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Persistent Vulnerabilities in the World of Work and Contemporary Capitalism: Some Reflections on India

Author

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  • Praveen Jha

    (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

  • Preksha Mishra

    (Jawaharlal Nehru University
    University of Kassel)

Abstract

The onslaught of COVID-19 has been catastrophic for India’s world of work. While it was a bolt out of the blue, its impacts on employment need to be located in the context of a long-term and ongoing structural crisis of (un) employment and systemic vulnerabilities (and subsequent burgeoning of ‘labour reserves’) that have tended to worsen during the neo-liberal regime. Using the various EUS and subsequent PLFS rounds for roughly the last two decades, the paper seeks to highlight selected aspects of the vulnerabilities and inequities that have plagued India’s world of work. These include participation rates, vulnerable employment, composition of workforce and access to certain aspects of decent work such as social security, paid leaves, and written contract. An important issue that the paper investigates is ‘income-vulnerability’ of the employed at the present juncture. Further, inequities across gender and social groups have also been assessed as regards these variables using the most recent data.

Suggested Citation

  • Praveen Jha & Preksha Mishra, 2022. "Persistent Vulnerabilities in the World of Work and Contemporary Capitalism: Some Reflections on India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 65(2), pages 347-372, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijlaec:v:65:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s41027-022-00382-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s41027-022-00382-w
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jayati Ghosh, 2019. "The Uses and Abuses of Inequality," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 181-196, April.
    2. Praveen Jha & Satadru Sikdar, 2020. "Contemporary Capitalism and Employment Challenges: Some Reflections on India," India Studies in Business and Economics, in: Nripendra Kishore Mishra (ed.), Development Challenges of India After Twenty Five Years of Economic Reforms, pages 157-181, Springer.
    3. Deshpande, Ashwini & Ramachandran, Rajesh, 2020. "Is Covid-19 "The Great Leveler"? The Critical Role of Social Identity in Lockdown-induced Job Losses," GLO Discussion Paper Series 622, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Carbonero, Francesco. & Ernst, Ekkehard & Weber, Enzo., 2018. "Robots worldwide the impact of automation on employment and trade," ILO Working Papers 995008793402676, International Labour Organization.
    5. Frey, Carl Benedikt & Osborne, Michael A., 2017. "The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 254-280.
    6. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(6), pages 2188-2244.
    7. Jha, Praveen, 2016. "Labour in Contemporary India," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199467143.
    8. Koen De Backer & Timothy DeStefano & Carlo Menon & Jung Ran Suh, 2018. "Industrial robotics and the global organisation of production," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2018/03, OECD Publishing.
    9. repec:ilo:ilowps:486789 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Chaudhary, Ruchika. & Verick, Sher., 2014. "Female labour force participation in India and beyond," ILO Working Papers 994867893402676, International Labour Organization.
    11. Praveen Jha, 2019. "Prospects for Labour and Contemporary Capitalism: An Assessment With Reference to India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 62(3), pages 319-340, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Praveen Jha & Preksha Mishra, 2023. "Changing World of Work and Rural Diversification," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 12(4), pages 399-430, December.
    2. Jha, Praveen K. & Mishra, Preksha & Singh, Kamya, 2023. "Automobile sector in India at the current juncture: Crisis and prospects," IPE Working Papers 216/2023, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).

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