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Informal Employment and the Structure of Wages in India: A Review of Trends

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  • Rosa Abraham

Abstract

The “alternative”, “atypical” or “informal” workforce has grown in developed and developing countries alike. One of the more recent evolutions of informal employment has been of informal employment within formal enterprises. In the interest of flexibility and cost‐reduction, many formal firms increasingly resort to hiring workers on a temporary or informal basis. Alongside, and perhaps, as a result of the persistence and pervasiveness of informal employment, issues relating to inequality have come to the fore. This paper is motivated by these two intertwining aspects of Indian labor market—informality and wage inequality. Using nationally representative sample data, the paper examines trends in wage inequality among various forms of informal workers, overlaying these findings with broader trends in inequality. Using a regression based inequality decomposition, the paper compares the sources of wage inequality across different employment groups and the reasons for differences in wage inequality.

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  • Rosa Abraham, 2019. "Informal Employment and the Structure of Wages in India: A Review of Trends," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(S1), pages 102-122, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:65:y:2019:i:s1:p:s102-s122
    DOI: 10.1111/roiw.12435
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Rani, Uma. & Furrer, Marianne., 2016. "Decomposing income inequality into factor income components : evidence from selected G20 countries," ILO Working Papers 994934893302676, International Labour Organization.
    6. Rosa Abraham, 2017. "Informality in the Indian Labour Market: An Analysis of Forms and Determinants," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 60(2), pages 191-215, June.
    7. Rashmi Banga, 2005. "Liberalisation and wage inequality in India," Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi Working Papers 156, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, New Delhi, India.
    8. K.V. Ramaswamy, 2008. "Wage Inequality in Indian Manufacturing - Is it Trade, Technology or Labour Regulations?," Labor Economics Working Papers 22361, East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.
    9. Myeong‐Su Yun, 2006. "Earnings Inequality In Usa, 1969–99: Comparing Inequality Using Earnings Equations," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 52(1), pages 127-144, March.
    10. repec:pru:wpaper:29 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Shorrocks, A F, 1982. "Inequality Decomposition by Factor Components," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(1), pages 193-211, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Serdar Acun, 2021. "Türkiye’de Ücretlilerin Kayıtlı Çalışma Olasılığını Belirleyen Faktörlerin Analizi," Journal of Social Policy Conferences, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 0(80), pages 423-450, June.
    2. Mrinalini Jha & Amit Basole, 2023. "Labour Incomes in India: A Comparison of Two National Household Surveys," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 66(1), pages 181-201, March.
    3. Abigail Stocker, 2025. "The Impacts of Maternity Benefits on Early Education: Evidence from India," Working Papers 173, Economics Department, William & Mary.
    4. Shreshti Rawat, 2023. "Inequality of Opportunity in Changing Access to Employment in India: A Panel Study," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 66(3), pages 739-764, September.
    5. Facundo Quiroga‐Martínez & Esteban Fernández‐Vázquez, 2021. "Education as a key to reduce spatial inequalities and informality in Argentinean regional labour markets," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 177-189, February.
    6. Nguepi Tsafack Elvis & Hua Cheng & Buregeya Ingabire Providence, 2022. "The Illustrative Understanding on the Informal Sector and Its Influence in Firm Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Evidence from Cameroon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-22, August.

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