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India’s rural employment scenario: challenges & opportunities

Author

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  • Majumder, Rajarshi

Abstract

Sectoral transformation from a rural subsistence agriculture based economy to a urban monetised industrial and service led economy is generally accepted as signs of development. It is also expected that these changes will accompany the economic growth process in a reasonably capitalistic economy like India, at least after the neo-liberal structural adjustment programmes started since 1990s. However, India’s rural employment scenario is an enigma. While GDP share of agriculture has dwindles remarkably, its share in employment does not show signs of similar decline. Whatever changes have taken place are also questioned as to whether they are signs of positive dynamism or that of distress. This paper attempts to examine the complexity of changes in rural labour market in India over the last decade to untangle this riddle. A multi-pronged strategy of human capital formation, transforming rural non-farm business and augment returns from agriculture is necessary to improve the scenario. Opportunities are there but structural challenges must be overcome to reach those goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Majumder, Rajarshi, 2022. "India’s rural employment scenario: challenges & opportunities," MPRA Paper 120108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:120108
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/120108/1/MPRA_paper_120108.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Madhura Swaminathan, 2020. "Contemporary Features of Rural Workers in India with a Focus on Gender and Caste," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(1), pages 67-79, March.
    2. Sher Singh Verick, 2017. "The puzzles and contradictions of the Indian labour market: What will the future of work look like?," ASARC Working Papers 2017-02, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    3. Jayan Jose Thomas & M. P. Jayesh, 2016. "Changes in India's Rural Labour Market in the 2000s: Evidence from the Census of India and the National Sample Survey," Journal, Review of Agrarian Studies, vol. 6(1), pages 81-115, January-J.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agriculture; Rural development; Non-farm sector; Employment; Rural Distress;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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