This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Labour Market Regulation and Industrial Performance in India--A Critical Review of the Empirical Evidence

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Aditya Bhattacharjea (Delhi School of Economics)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

This paper offers a critique of recent empirical studies on the impact of labour regulation on industrial performance in India. It begins with a review of earlier studies that tried to infer the effects on manufacturing employment of amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act (IDA) in 1976 and 1982 that required government permission for layoffs, retrenchments and closures, and shows that the results are ambiguous. It then criticizes the widely-used index of state-level labour regulation devised by Besley and Burgess (2004), and the econometric methodology they use to establish that excessively pro-worker regulation led to poor performance in Indian manufacturing. Several recent studies that have used their index are also surveyed. Finally, the paper reviews other evidence, pointing in a very different direction, on the actual enforcement of labour laws, labour flexibility, and industrial employment. Throughout, attention is paid to the crucial role of judicial interpretation of the IDA, which has been neglected in this literature.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.cdedse.org/pdf/work141.pdf
File Format:
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics in its series Working papers with number 141.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 39 pages
Date of creation: Jun 2006
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cde:cdewps:141

Contact details of provider:
Postal: Delhi 110 007
Phone: (011) 27667005
Fax: (011) 27667159
Email:
Web page: http://www.cdedse.org/
More information through EDIRC

Order Information:
Email:
Web: http://www.cdedse.org/

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Vinayan. K.P).

Related research
Keywords: India; industrial relations; employment protection laws; job security regulations; labor flexibility.;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Public Policy
O53 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Sanyal, Paroma & Menon, Nidhiya, 2005. "Labor Disputes and the Economics of Firm Geography: A Study of Domestic Investment in India," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(4), pages 825-54, July.
  2. Petia Topalova, 2004. "Trade Liberalization and Firm Productivity: The Case of India," IMF Working Papers 04/28, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  3. Gaurav Datt & Martin Ravallion, 2002. "Is India's Economic Growth Leaving the Poor Behind?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 89-108, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Dutta Roy, Sudipta, 2004. "Employment dynamics in Indian industry: adjustment lags and the impact of job security regulations," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 233-256, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Sudipta Dutta Roy, 2002. "Job Security Regulations and Worker Turnover : A Study of the Indian Manufacturing Sector," Indian Economic Review, Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 141-162, July.
  6. Suresh Chand Aggarwal, 2002. "Labour Demand Function for the Indian Organized Industry An Instrument Variable Approach," Indian Economic Review, Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics, vol. 37(2), pages 209-220, July.
  7. Bhalotra, Sonia R, 1998. "The Puzzle of Jobless Growth in Indian Manufacturing," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 60(1), pages 5-32, February.
  8. Abhijit Banerjee & Lakshmi Iyer, 2005. "History, Institutions, and Economic Performance: The Legacy of Colonial Land Tenure Systems in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1190-1213, September. [Downloadable!]
  9. Levine, Ross & Renelt, David, 1992. "A Sensitivity Analysis of Cross-Country Growth Regressions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(4), pages 942-63, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Rana Hasan & Devashish Mitra & K.V. Ramaswamy, 2003. "Trade Reforms, Labor Regulations and Labor-Demand Elasticities: Empirical Evidence from India," NBER Working Papers 9879, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Timothy Besley & Robin Burgess, 2004. "Can Labor Regulation Hinder Economic Performance? Evidence from India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 119(1), pages 91-134, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Gupta, Poonam & Hasan, Rana & Kumar, Utsav, 2009. "Big Reforms but Small Payoffs: Explaining the Weak Record of Growth and Employment in Indian Manufacturing," MPRA Paper 13496, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  2. Poonam Gupta & Rana Hasan & Utsav Kumar, . "What Constrains Indian Manufacturing?," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi Working Papers 211, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Petia Topalova, 2008. "India: Is the Rising Tide Lifting All Boats?," IMF Working Papers 08/54, International Monetary Fund. [Downloadable!]
  4. Djankov, Simeon & Ramalho, Rita, 2008. "Employment Laws in Developing Countries," CEPR Discussion Papers 7097, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? All RePEc services are meant to be be free forever, as they are all run by volunteers.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-15.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.