Abusaleh Shariff and Amitabh Kundu
Amidst the global gloom of economic meltdown rivaling only the depression of the 1930’s, the World Bank has delivered its 31st ‘world development report’ (WDR) in its own ritualistic fashion last week in New Delhi. The report is a visual treat as the complexities of world’s business is presented in three dimensions, using geographic depictions that are easy to understand. Although it argues for balanced growth between the rural and urban areas, it makes a strong case for the ‘scale economies’ that can occur through geographic concentration of economic activities, which alarmingly is taking place in and around a few large city concentrations. The case of Tokyo which accounts for closer to one half of Japan’s exports is presented as an illustration with a lot of fervor. The cases of Seoul in South Korea, Dongguan in China, specified region in Egypt have been noted to strengthen the case. The report introduces the concepts of ‘three Ds’ depicting density, distance and division all in geographic parlance and their spatial overlapping without going into the details of their distressing manifestations in many of the countries in less developed regions.
The report makes a case against policies which could hinder the so called natural process of rural to urban migration and process of urbanization. It argues for well informed and people friendly provisioning of services to urban areas so as to facilitate economic growth oriented industrial and service activities. Understandably, the large cities with greater potentials are to be preferred in designing the strategy. A compulsive argument made is that it is just not for the sake of higher wage incomes and better jobs that people migrate to cities and urban agglomerations. They do so due to concentration of economic and social infrastructure; for example, the markets, facilities for education, health, entertainment, leisure and so on. In this context there is emphasis on the fact that it is no more a dichotomy of rural and urban areas but it is a continuum, rural-villages to towns, cities and metropolises that should constitute the premise of the development strategy.
The durability and resilience of an economy during the crises is linked with its own diversity and vastness in terms of the sectors of economy, For example, economies dependent on export of single or few commodities would get affected much more from a sharp fall in global prices of these commodities, compared with economies with a diverse basket of goods and services in its markets. One can extend the argument to geographic diversity and hold that a broad spread of economic activities across all different regions in a country including rural areas and semi-urban corridors would be less vulnerable to such global shocks. Thus the key to long term efficiency and stability in growth lies in economic and geographic spread and not in its concentration. Note that such counter arguments and conflicting policy orientations between economics of specialization, agglomeration and even division of labor are as old as economic thought itself and there cannot be a single prescription for countries that face very different economic situations. There have to be a range of economic prescriptions depending upon the nature, depth and breadth of global integration and level of economic development itself.
The WDR recommendation in favour of concentration of economic activities in the name of size economies would be grossly unsuited for countries like India for several empirical reasons. The country owing to historical and socio-economic reasons has experienced low rate of migration, if you exclude mobility of women occurring largely for marriage and family linked factors. More importantly, the male population has become less mobile over the past several decades. The rhetoric of the regional leaders leading to antagonism between the local population and outsiders is partly responsible for this. The decline in the rate of immigration can be observed not only in case of Maharashtra but also other developed states like Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Correspondingly, the rate of outmigration from the less developed states has gone down. Expenditure class wise data from the National Sample Survey suggest that the poor households are worst hit by this trend and their migration rates have declined significantly. Furthermore, the WDR does not draw lessons from the fact that it is the rural-rural migration which has created fascinating geographic economic linkages in India. This linkage is the result of technological transformation of agriculture in specified areas which had relative advantage in water resources and other inputs. In the context of the rural areas the WDR under emphasis two important processes: (a) the role of technology in agriculture, and (b) the role of agriculture in economic growth and livelihood sustenance to the teaming millions in India.
The decline in the growth in urban population during the past two decades indicates that rural urban migration has not gone up despite accentuation of rural-urban disparity. The metropolitan cities have become hostile to the migrants and consequently their poverty levels have come down sharply to about 12 per cent as compared to the figure of 24 per cent for the country as a whole. The household level data show that growing rural-urban disparity provides economic rational for greater migration. Unfortunately, the socio-political reality of the country has come in the way of its materialization. It would be imprudent to plead for a strategy resulting in grater regional imbalance without ensuring that mobility can indeed be increased given the present social environment.
The major concern of the inclusive strategy designed for the Eleventh Five Year Plan is regional imbalance and social justice. A large number of programmes have been designed, targeting the development of backward areas and regions that also have large concentration of socially vulnerable people. The Prime Minister’s flagship programmes including NREGA are trying to reach out to the people who have benefited only marginally from the growth dynamics of the earlier periods. Redressal of the problem of regional balance is taken as a key component of the strategy of inclusive development in the Plan. India is not the only country where regional and social inequalities have gone up in the past few decades, partly associated with adopting measures of globalization. The WDR for the year 2006 entitled Equity and Development had expressed serious concern on this issue and pleaded for providing access to basic factors of production and strengthening the capabilities of the people in vulnerable social groups and regions. The policy perspective emerging from the present report is bound to send erroneous signals to policy makers in developing countries and come in the way of achievement of MDG by 2015. Economic growth foundations if linked securely to the economics of agglomeration will do more harm not only to the farming communities but also to those who live in relatively less endowed geographic spaces; besides creating mega-problems faced by mega-cities. Can anyone imagine India marching ahead on a high growth path even for the next couple of decades by strengthening infrastructural facilities and high quality services in a few urban agglomerations, ignoring the five thousand small towns and six hundred thousand villages, even in the short run? Utopianism can show us the moon, but only a few can reach there. The development practitioners must think about the welfare of the millions living in un-serviced villages and urban slums rather than projecting a dream of creating a few millionaires.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Economic Recovery
Economic Recovery is in the Brain!
As the global economy saw a sustained and uninterrupted growth of just about a decade since the east- Asian crisis of 1998-9, the USA became first to strike back with a vengeance as if she was waiting to destabilize the world economy with a purpose. The blame game began – it is the sub-prime lending, crash of the housing market and so on; but the real culprit was the inefficient and unregulated banking sector in the US and selected European countries. Remember even the erstwhile east-Asian crisis was triggered by the failure of the banking sector who could not sustain FII and FDI flows and the panic subsequently robbed the capital markets across the region through contagion. This time it is not the financial constraints per se, rather glut of easy and cheap money channeled into the American financial system from across the world, mainly through federal bonds and speculative investments in real estate. USA has been the favorite destination for keeping ‘global sovereign funds’ as a store of value through the purchase of federal bonds and investments in private markets. For example, most of surplus petro-dollars from the Middle Eastern countries, the national savings from China and Japan are dominantly parked in the American bond and stock markets and by the end of 2008 US had the largest negative trade balance in the world of $821billions.
Another fact important is that financial crisis that hit the real estate in the US came unannounced; the undercurrent of this ‘financial tsunami’ was not at all visible. Murmurs of overheating of economies were heard during 2008 but they were taken as positive indications for promoting high levels of production and marketing activities thus benefitting corporate sector. But subsequent to the crisis inter-banking activity came to standstill and developmental fund channel for industrial production, trade and services was desiccated. Many expansion plans and future investments were put on hold. A grand psychological deficit took shape which further drained the financial markets, that not only damaged institutions and business but also individuals and households. In spite of the fear of loss of value of cash savings, individuals preferred to withhold cash or should we say stash cash under the pillow thus damaging the business and marketing activists. Such a forced and unwarranted savings create disaster especially during the slowdown as this behavior reduces domestic demand and brings down the overall economic activity leading to massive unemployment, although there could be initially a decline in rate of inflation. Such a behavior normally snowballs into deep crisis. The efforts to stop such disaster have lead to what is now known as economic bail out plans but amidst serious criticisms.
As a fall out of the meltdown a number of less developed countries are affected. The Economic Intelligence Unit predicts that 95 countries around the world are facing a threat of social unrest which can disrupt economies and topple governments. Volatility and uncertainty in food and fuel prices, and associated pricing and trade policies needs to be at the top of the economic agenda of low income and transition economies so as to keep a watch on the welfare of millions of the downtrodden spread across both the rural and urban areas. Many businesses are resorting to wage cuts or reduction in working hours, depleting inventories and so on. The durability and resilience of an economy during the crises is linked with its own diversity and vastness in terms of the sectors of economy, for example, single or fewer commodity export economics would get affected much more from a sharp fall in global prices of such commodities; compared with economies with a diverse basket of goods and services in its markets. An extension of this phenomenon is geographic diversity and a broad spread of multiple economic activities across all parts of a country including rural areas and semi-urban corridors. Thus the key is in economic and geographic spread and not in its concentration, notwithstanding the most recent prescription of the World Bank vehemently promoting economic concentration in the guise of economics of agglomeration (World Development Report, 2009). Note that such counter arguments and conflicting policy orientations between economics of specialization, agglomeration and even division of labor are as old as economic thought itself and it is easy to recommend a balanced view on it; but what is relevant today is that there cannot be a single prescription and that countries face very different economic situations. Thus, there have to be a range of economic prescriptions depending upon the nature, depth and breadth of global integration and level of economic development itself.
The rich economics are putting financial bailout packages to banks and industrial houses under sever criticisms that such efforts are akin to nationalization and getting closer to socialistic virtues which are not respected in liberal market economics. The economic bailout plans mostly in US but also in the UK and to a limited extent in other European countries are intended to bring back vibrancy of economic activity through promoting businesses. But this is better said than done, as businesses can be promoted only when psychologically they are again ready to take risks and initiatives for furthering production, distribution and trading activities. A saving grace during this state of madness has been not so high increases in basic food items although there are indicators of food price increase during this year and the year after. Food prices have either declined or remained same, but there are pressures that they may increase which will mean that the poor will be affected.
It was common knowledge that India and China were engines thrusting economic momentum of the globe during previous decade and expected to do so during next half a century or more. But the meltdown has affected both - China much more than India. This is because of China’s high degree of global integration in spite of not being a member of WTO for a long time. China has recorded industrial unemployment never heard of and economic growth rate is expected to be half of decadal average. India on the other hand not fully integrated globally both in terms of exports and financial inflows are affected somewhat less. It has not yet seen massive unemployment although a recent ‘labour bureau’ estimate puts is at about 500,000 job losses but it is nowhere near to 2.5-3 millions reported from China. Indian has continued to receive FDIs almost at the same rate and reached the peak last month. Thus what appeared a problem for India that its economy was growing due to domestic demand has become a blessing in
disguise, and supporting reasonable growth during the downturn. Even the IMF (18th March 2009 news papers) has accorded accolade for India for its responsible economic policies and sustaining growth in the vicinity of 6 % during the current year.
A natural response to protect an economy from the global forces of meltdown could be to insulate itself through protectionist policies. A few countries have precisely done the same especially in areas of financial flows and food exports. But what appears a curse in transferring and augmenting the impact of the meltdown, is precisely what will work to ward off such an evil. Multilateralism and open borders still are the solutions to reduce the impact jointly and ultimately get a set of countries out of recessionary situations. At the national level it is prudent to sustain expenditures on programs such as for mass employment generation (NREGA) which enables the rural poor to sustain income and consumption. Fiscal deficits will be under stress but that is what the national governments are expected to do, manage fiscal and financial flows prudently.
As the global economy saw a sustained and uninterrupted growth of just about a decade since the east- Asian crisis of 1998-9, the USA became first to strike back with a vengeance as if she was waiting to destabilize the world economy with a purpose. The blame game began – it is the sub-prime lending, crash of the housing market and so on; but the real culprit was the inefficient and unregulated banking sector in the US and selected European countries. Remember even the erstwhile east-Asian crisis was triggered by the failure of the banking sector who could not sustain FII and FDI flows and the panic subsequently robbed the capital markets across the region through contagion. This time it is not the financial constraints per se, rather glut of easy and cheap money channeled into the American financial system from across the world, mainly through federal bonds and speculative investments in real estate. USA has been the favorite destination for keeping ‘global sovereign funds’ as a store of value through the purchase of federal bonds and investments in private markets. For example, most of surplus petro-dollars from the Middle Eastern countries, the national savings from China and Japan are dominantly parked in the American bond and stock markets and by the end of 2008 US had the largest negative trade balance in the world of $821billions.
Another fact important is that financial crisis that hit the real estate in the US came unannounced; the undercurrent of this ‘financial tsunami’ was not at all visible. Murmurs of overheating of economies were heard during 2008 but they were taken as positive indications for promoting high levels of production and marketing activities thus benefitting corporate sector. But subsequent to the crisis inter-banking activity came to standstill and developmental fund channel for industrial production, trade and services was desiccated. Many expansion plans and future investments were put on hold. A grand psychological deficit took shape which further drained the financial markets, that not only damaged institutions and business but also individuals and households. In spite of the fear of loss of value of cash savings, individuals preferred to withhold cash or should we say stash cash under the pillow thus damaging the business and marketing activists. Such a forced and unwarranted savings create disaster especially during the slowdown as this behavior reduces domestic demand and brings down the overall economic activity leading to massive unemployment, although there could be initially a decline in rate of inflation. Such a behavior normally snowballs into deep crisis. The efforts to stop such disaster have lead to what is now known as economic bail out plans but amidst serious criticisms.
As a fall out of the meltdown a number of less developed countries are affected. The Economic Intelligence Unit predicts that 95 countries around the world are facing a threat of social unrest which can disrupt economies and topple governments. Volatility and uncertainty in food and fuel prices, and associated pricing and trade policies needs to be at the top of the economic agenda of low income and transition economies so as to keep a watch on the welfare of millions of the downtrodden spread across both the rural and urban areas. Many businesses are resorting to wage cuts or reduction in working hours, depleting inventories and so on. The durability and resilience of an economy during the crises is linked with its own diversity and vastness in terms of the sectors of economy, for example, single or fewer commodity export economics would get affected much more from a sharp fall in global prices of such commodities; compared with economies with a diverse basket of goods and services in its markets. An extension of this phenomenon is geographic diversity and a broad spread of multiple economic activities across all parts of a country including rural areas and semi-urban corridors. Thus the key is in economic and geographic spread and not in its concentration, notwithstanding the most recent prescription of the World Bank vehemently promoting economic concentration in the guise of economics of agglomeration (World Development Report, 2009). Note that such counter arguments and conflicting policy orientations between economics of specialization, agglomeration and even division of labor are as old as economic thought itself and it is easy to recommend a balanced view on it; but what is relevant today is that there cannot be a single prescription and that countries face very different economic situations. Thus, there have to be a range of economic prescriptions depending upon the nature, depth and breadth of global integration and level of economic development itself.
The rich economics are putting financial bailout packages to banks and industrial houses under sever criticisms that such efforts are akin to nationalization and getting closer to socialistic virtues which are not respected in liberal market economics. The economic bailout plans mostly in US but also in the UK and to a limited extent in other European countries are intended to bring back vibrancy of economic activity through promoting businesses. But this is better said than done, as businesses can be promoted only when psychologically they are again ready to take risks and initiatives for furthering production, distribution and trading activities. A saving grace during this state of madness has been not so high increases in basic food items although there are indicators of food price increase during this year and the year after. Food prices have either declined or remained same, but there are pressures that they may increase which will mean that the poor will be affected.
It was common knowledge that India and China were engines thrusting economic momentum of the globe during previous decade and expected to do so during next half a century or more. But the meltdown has affected both - China much more than India. This is because of China’s high degree of global integration in spite of not being a member of WTO for a long time. China has recorded industrial unemployment never heard of and economic growth rate is expected to be half of decadal average. India on the other hand not fully integrated globally both in terms of exports and financial inflows are affected somewhat less. It has not yet seen massive unemployment although a recent ‘labour bureau’ estimate puts is at about 500,000 job losses but it is nowhere near to 2.5-3 millions reported from China. Indian has continued to receive FDIs almost at the same rate and reached the peak last month. Thus what appeared a problem for India that its economy was growing due to domestic demand has become a blessing in
disguise, and supporting reasonable growth during the downturn. Even the IMF (18th March 2009 news papers) has accorded accolade for India for its responsible economic policies and sustaining growth in the vicinity of 6 % during the current year.
A natural response to protect an economy from the global forces of meltdown could be to insulate itself through protectionist policies. A few countries have precisely done the same especially in areas of financial flows and food exports. But what appears a curse in transferring and augmenting the impact of the meltdown, is precisely what will work to ward off such an evil. Multilateralism and open borders still are the solutions to reduce the impact jointly and ultimately get a set of countries out of recessionary situations. At the national level it is prudent to sustain expenditures on programs such as for mass employment generation (NREGA) which enables the rural poor to sustain income and consumption. Fiscal deficits will be under stress but that is what the national governments are expected to do, manage fiscal and financial flows prudently.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Marginalized and Indian Democracy: A case of Muslims
There are a number of ways marginalized groups of people can be defined in India; often referred to as the excluded as well. These generic expressions, inherently suggest a systemic but mechanical manner in which groups of specified identities are driven away towards peripheries of democratic decision making institutions. They miss out from the benefits of protective and promotive public policy approaches, mostly due to lack of motivation amongst functionaries assigned with implementative duties. They often lack informational and institutional support structures that through community networks could claim their own space in governance and civil society. Put differently exclusion can occur due to the acts of omission and commission by the political and governance structures. The dimensions namely, political process, bureaucratic reach and drive for organized civil society initiatives are all essential to enable citizens seek fair access and achieve reasonable levels of outcomes in modern day developmental initiatives.
Given the complex maize of socio-cultural and religious pluralism and diversity in India, often population groups identified as dalits, tribals (notwithstanding constitutional guarantees), minorities (mostly religious), land less manual workers, migrants from rural and less developed regions and those living in inhospitable hinterlands are identified as marginalized or excluded groups. They generally do not carry political patronage, nor do they attract attention of developmental functionaries under routine setup, and are unable to organize themselves in the mould of civil society. In short they are easy to pry, mislead and even soft targets of exploitation.
In India we invoke general (national) elections every five years to choose 552 members to loka sabha (house of the people) in parliament. They along with members of rajya sabha (council of states) and state level legislatures select a Prime Minister as chief of executive, representing largest faction of elected representatives, and he in turn selects his team of ministers. Thus one finds a multi-level process and at each level the marginalized may experience the brunt of exclusion and suppression. Since the Indian democracy recognize and respect those who have support of the majority, which can be just over one half and often much less due to multiple contestants. In many circumstances those at the helm of governance do not in fact represent majority at all. In such a mechanism, those identified as marginalize and excluded cannot make inroads into functional democratic formations. Thus, executive and legislature in India seems to work for the majority not because institutional formations were based on majority but rather to an illusionary majority which is important to sustain power in future as well. Besides, one finds a declining share as voters, amongst the marginalized especially in case of religious minorities, which can further cause marginalization and exclusion.
It is absolutely necessary, therefore, that other institutional structures are available to protect the interest of marginalized and excluded. The judiciary is one such institution, which is part of the trilogy (along with legislature and executive) accounting for good governance. But judiciary acts only when approached and marginalized normally are incapable to reach out seeking redresses. Normally, judiciary addresses individual cases and only rarely accommodative to ponder over systemic and mechanical exclusion; and on its own it does not initiate corrective measures.
In India, there are other quasi-public institutions such as the human rights commission, the SCs and STs Commission, minority commission and so on; whose mandate is not well defined, and a look at their functioning suggests little attention towards three types of exclusions enunciated above. Such quasi-public institutional arrangements are involved in seeking redresses through the enactment of law; lacking are intuitional arrangements to ensure implementation of laws and program that promote inclusion.
The hope for democracy in India lies in the grassroots identified as the panchayati raj institutions. Even at this level same principle of ‘highest count wins the cup’ is utilized, which in fact pushes the identified communities further towards deepening marginalization, exclusion and distress. The concept of proportional representation was rejected at the time of formation of the Indian republic in 1947 on the belief that democratic selection through ‘highest vote gather’ method was good enough to address concerns of minority groups that were not capable of winning a place through votes. But as we experience now such expectations are not to be found. It appears, therefore, time is ripe to introduce some form of proportionate representation at the level of local self governments. For example, legislation in Andhra Pradesh in 2006 ensures nomination of two minority members to the panchayat sabhas across the state. Other states will do better by emulating this format and learn from experiences.
Although Indian has made a name for itself in the world as an emerging economy, production and consumption hub, and part of the global energy revolution; it is going through one of the lowest spiral so far as inter-community relationships are concerned. It has poor record in social policy of building safe and secure place of living for people who profess varied religions and social customs. Inter-community relationships must be addressed as the priority of this government and the government which will be formulated after impending general elections. It is a matter of ‘trust’, but the minority communities especially the Muslims and Christians are looked down upon by certain political thinking, which is corrupting the young minds. While other minorities namely Buddhists, Sikhs and Janis do not sufferer from such mistrust of the polity and establishment.
Security Concerns- In organized societies especially in a pluralistic context there can be physical threat to life if a dominant group intends to eliminate or reduce the civic power of the other group. But the legal structure and state security machinery such as the police, the army and other agencies are put in place to ensure security to all citizens. It is in this context and frame of governance that one needs to understand the physical security of the Muslim community in India.
In spite of democratic governance in place in India there is physical threat to life of many minorities – mostly Muslims and Christians; and castes such as dalits and adivasis.
Muslims especially face threat to life if they do not align their political ideology with the dominant community of a given area such as a constituency, a district or a state. Often organized threat to life of Muslims emerges from the State especially when those with deviant ideology assume power – For example in Gujarat. But such organize crime causing loss of life can be caused even in the so called secular regimes – thus such mass killings such as during the communal riots are mostly engineered and well planned in connivance with the security agencies of the state. The police force in the Indian context seems somewhat less concerned with the problems of the poor and excluded.
When there is a fear phobia amongst a community it affects practically all facets of human lives. While it generates a feeling of perennial insecurity in the minds of people, which in turn pushes them in to living in exclusive spaces and ghettos? Children, especially girls would not participate in normal and regular schools for fear of life as most often such facilities are found in living spaces where the Muslims do not reside. Muslim women will not come out to secure employment in common places such as the markets. Even the well educated and qualified Muslim men may not be employed in the private sectors, as they will be considered not trust worthy. Especially since the whole of the Muslim community across India is under the suspicion, it is not uncommon to find that the security agencies pick up Muslim youth at random and subject them to merciless killing just to create a terror phobia amongst the Muslims.
This is a national disgrace and needs to be set right. In this connection there is a need to establish the ‘equal opportunities commission (EOI)’ as recommended by the Sachar Committee, and appropriate legal mechanism through an enactment of law must be put in place to deal with religious discrimination. The EOI also helps strengthen grassroots level participation by reducing willful exploitation and exclusion of communities, socio-cultural or economic groups such as the wage laborers, temporary migrants, women, and minorities and so on. Maintaining diversity in public spaces was also recommended to be absolutely essential through extending a set of carefully crafted incentives and disincentives. Sachar report essentially is a review and record of success or failure of the democratic institutions intended to achieve social-equity, participation and inclusiveness. It is two years since the report was handed over to the parliament, but so far there has not been any discussion and debate on it. In a democracy, keeping issues under wraps, away from the public debates can defeat the very purpose and objectives of developmental governance. Although there are some gains with respect to enhanced sensitivity amongst the policy makers and bureaucrats with respect to excluded communities in this case the Muslims; no noteworthy policy shift has been noticed. Mechanisms to improve diversity in government employment, admissions in colleges and universities, and in institutions of local self governance have to be addressed on an urgent basis. Importance of information sharing and transparency in public debates effected though establishing an independent data bank and assessment and monitoring authority will go a long way in ensuring the fact that Indian democracy is moving towards maturity and that it meets the standards set by modern day democracies around the world.
The following initiatives will yield better results both at the level of State and National government frameworks:
Markets, Credit and Employment:
City/ town specific modernization, marketing and export schemes for products produced by artisans. Access to bank and cooperative credit to facilitate production, gradation, packaging and exports. Easy access to bank and micro-credit programs for promotion of self-employment.
Promote food-processing industries for export of meat, chicken and fish with participation of Muslims in backward and forward markets. Retailing, where many Muslims are engaged is now being hijacked by the organized sector.
Promote environment friendly leather industry with involvement of Muslims and SCs and STs in the backward and forward markets.
Strengthen the backward and forward linkages in both credit and product markets in hand loom and power loom sectors to promote production of cotton textiles and Silk.
Provide clearly identified urban space for undertaking vending operations for vegetables, fruits, flowers and other food products with proportionate share for Muslims.
Provide mainstream space to show case crafts produced and manufactured by Muslim artisans. The artisans are feeling the heat of technological inventions, and their livelihood is endangered.
Recognize self-help groups from amongst the Muslim communities. Enable registration of Muslim oriented civil society organizations.
Social Services:
Ensure ICDS centres in Muslim dominated area to be managed by Muslim Women and attach libraries and provide reading material.
Ensure presence of Muslim men and women in adequate proportion in local panchayats. Nominate Muslim women and men in panchayats where they cannot get elected due either to local political factors or due to smaller numbers.
Recruit Muslim men and women in regular schools as teachers, assistants and administrative staff in all types of public schools, not necessarily in schools for Muslim boys and girls.
Appoint Muslims in Police and other institutions meant for protection of public property such as the railways, border security force and so on.
Recruit Muslim men and women in regular rural health programmes such as doctors and surgeons, ANMs, health assistants, extension workers.
Draft Muslim men and women in public employment programmes. Promote inter-faith committees in all locations with Muslim concentrations. Promote membership of Muslims in the urban housing societies.
Muslim Community itself must take Initiatives of the following type:
In today’s time ‘knowledge’ is becoming central to all paths of progress and that is where Muslims have to strive hard. Chart out strategies and accumulate resources to promote educating amongst the poorer sections of Muslim community. Promote compulsory 7 years of education amongst both boys and girls.
Promote appropriate technical education (computer linked) such as the Indian Technical Institutes for those who are failed at the matriculation and pre-university levels.
Establish transparency in managing Islamic institutions such as the Wakf and Mosque committees. The resources including from Zakat and other donations along with Wakfs should be targeted to the poorest amongst the Muslim community. Welfare activity must not end at construction of mosques, but also to ensure measurable transfer of welfare gains to the society.
Establish small and medium enterprise program to promote manufacturing of goods such as, soups, shampoos, pulses, dairy, spices, edible oil, wheat flour, homemade pickles, homemade drinks, home made sugar, cosmetics, hatchery, skin processing, poultry, cattle feed, rearing of cattle, sheep & goat, garment manufacturing, lime kilns, gaur gum units, hydrated lime, plastic goods dyes, colour and chemicals, textile processing units, toothpaste, toothbrush, shaving creams, hair dyes, jewellery etc. and things which are being used in everyday life by common man. There is a need to eliminate the middlemen though the establishment of SHGs. All these products would be “halal” products and the whole community would be galvanized to buy these Sharia compliant products without much marketing efforts.
I Initiate an anti-dowry movement amongst the Muslim communities so as to become a model for the whole of population in India. Imbibe nationalism amongst boys and girls in young ages by promoting respect to national flag and national anthem. There can be a Muslim way to saluting the national flag and ‘sare jahan se achha hindustan hamara’ must be used as the national anthem along with ‘jana gana mana’.
There is widespread absence of civil society groups with a focus on Muslim advancement, who could play a vital role in the implementation and monitoring processes of various Muslim oriented programs. This challenge could be addressed by encouraging Muslims to set up civil society groups, and even offering some Masjid Committees to take over this role until a full fledged civil society group emerges in the locality as a meaningful alternative. But the latter decision need to be carefully made so that such initiatives should not result empowering Muslim clergy class who are often known for regressive interpretation of Islam denying gender equality to Muslim women. The secular development intervention needs to have enough space for Muslim girl’s education and advancement, without which addressing Muslim backwardness could be entirely impossible.
The intellectual and political leadership addressing the issue of Muslim backwardness is led by largely non-Muslims indicating consolidation of secular content of India’s public debate. The Muslim community must continue to engage one and all strategically so as get integrated into the mainstream democratic value system enshrined in the Indian constitution. Promote importance of protecting public property, community infrastructure and place of worship of all religions and castes.
Given the complex maize of socio-cultural and religious pluralism and diversity in India, often population groups identified as dalits, tribals (notwithstanding constitutional guarantees), minorities (mostly religious), land less manual workers, migrants from rural and less developed regions and those living in inhospitable hinterlands are identified as marginalized or excluded groups. They generally do not carry political patronage, nor do they attract attention of developmental functionaries under routine setup, and are unable to organize themselves in the mould of civil society. In short they are easy to pry, mislead and even soft targets of exploitation.
In India we invoke general (national) elections every five years to choose 552 members to loka sabha (house of the people) in parliament. They along with members of rajya sabha (council of states) and state level legislatures select a Prime Minister as chief of executive, representing largest faction of elected representatives, and he in turn selects his team of ministers. Thus one finds a multi-level process and at each level the marginalized may experience the brunt of exclusion and suppression. Since the Indian democracy recognize and respect those who have support of the majority, which can be just over one half and often much less due to multiple contestants. In many circumstances those at the helm of governance do not in fact represent majority at all. In such a mechanism, those identified as marginalize and excluded cannot make inroads into functional democratic formations. Thus, executive and legislature in India seems to work for the majority not because institutional formations were based on majority but rather to an illusionary majority which is important to sustain power in future as well. Besides, one finds a declining share as voters, amongst the marginalized especially in case of religious minorities, which can further cause marginalization and exclusion.
It is absolutely necessary, therefore, that other institutional structures are available to protect the interest of marginalized and excluded. The judiciary is one such institution, which is part of the trilogy (along with legislature and executive) accounting for good governance. But judiciary acts only when approached and marginalized normally are incapable to reach out seeking redresses. Normally, judiciary addresses individual cases and only rarely accommodative to ponder over systemic and mechanical exclusion; and on its own it does not initiate corrective measures.
In India, there are other quasi-public institutions such as the human rights commission, the SCs and STs Commission, minority commission and so on; whose mandate is not well defined, and a look at their functioning suggests little attention towards three types of exclusions enunciated above. Such quasi-public institutional arrangements are involved in seeking redresses through the enactment of law; lacking are intuitional arrangements to ensure implementation of laws and program that promote inclusion.
The hope for democracy in India lies in the grassroots identified as the panchayati raj institutions. Even at this level same principle of ‘highest count wins the cup’ is utilized, which in fact pushes the identified communities further towards deepening marginalization, exclusion and distress. The concept of proportional representation was rejected at the time of formation of the Indian republic in 1947 on the belief that democratic selection through ‘highest vote gather’ method was good enough to address concerns of minority groups that were not capable of winning a place through votes. But as we experience now such expectations are not to be found. It appears, therefore, time is ripe to introduce some form of proportionate representation at the level of local self governments. For example, legislation in Andhra Pradesh in 2006 ensures nomination of two minority members to the panchayat sabhas across the state. Other states will do better by emulating this format and learn from experiences.
Although Indian has made a name for itself in the world as an emerging economy, production and consumption hub, and part of the global energy revolution; it is going through one of the lowest spiral so far as inter-community relationships are concerned. It has poor record in social policy of building safe and secure place of living for people who profess varied religions and social customs. Inter-community relationships must be addressed as the priority of this government and the government which will be formulated after impending general elections. It is a matter of ‘trust’, but the minority communities especially the Muslims and Christians are looked down upon by certain political thinking, which is corrupting the young minds. While other minorities namely Buddhists, Sikhs and Janis do not sufferer from such mistrust of the polity and establishment.
Security Concerns- In organized societies especially in a pluralistic context there can be physical threat to life if a dominant group intends to eliminate or reduce the civic power of the other group. But the legal structure and state security machinery such as the police, the army and other agencies are put in place to ensure security to all citizens. It is in this context and frame of governance that one needs to understand the physical security of the Muslim community in India.
In spite of democratic governance in place in India there is physical threat to life of many minorities – mostly Muslims and Christians; and castes such as dalits and adivasis.
Muslims especially face threat to life if they do not align their political ideology with the dominant community of a given area such as a constituency, a district or a state. Often organized threat to life of Muslims emerges from the State especially when those with deviant ideology assume power – For example in Gujarat. But such organize crime causing loss of life can be caused even in the so called secular regimes – thus such mass killings such as during the communal riots are mostly engineered and well planned in connivance with the security agencies of the state. The police force in the Indian context seems somewhat less concerned with the problems of the poor and excluded.
When there is a fear phobia amongst a community it affects practically all facets of human lives. While it generates a feeling of perennial insecurity in the minds of people, which in turn pushes them in to living in exclusive spaces and ghettos? Children, especially girls would not participate in normal and regular schools for fear of life as most often such facilities are found in living spaces where the Muslims do not reside. Muslim women will not come out to secure employment in common places such as the markets. Even the well educated and qualified Muslim men may not be employed in the private sectors, as they will be considered not trust worthy. Especially since the whole of the Muslim community across India is under the suspicion, it is not uncommon to find that the security agencies pick up Muslim youth at random and subject them to merciless killing just to create a terror phobia amongst the Muslims.
This is a national disgrace and needs to be set right. In this connection there is a need to establish the ‘equal opportunities commission (EOI)’ as recommended by the Sachar Committee, and appropriate legal mechanism through an enactment of law must be put in place to deal with religious discrimination. The EOI also helps strengthen grassroots level participation by reducing willful exploitation and exclusion of communities, socio-cultural or economic groups such as the wage laborers, temporary migrants, women, and minorities and so on. Maintaining diversity in public spaces was also recommended to be absolutely essential through extending a set of carefully crafted incentives and disincentives. Sachar report essentially is a review and record of success or failure of the democratic institutions intended to achieve social-equity, participation and inclusiveness. It is two years since the report was handed over to the parliament, but so far there has not been any discussion and debate on it. In a democracy, keeping issues under wraps, away from the public debates can defeat the very purpose and objectives of developmental governance. Although there are some gains with respect to enhanced sensitivity amongst the policy makers and bureaucrats with respect to excluded communities in this case the Muslims; no noteworthy policy shift has been noticed. Mechanisms to improve diversity in government employment, admissions in colleges and universities, and in institutions of local self governance have to be addressed on an urgent basis. Importance of information sharing and transparency in public debates effected though establishing an independent data bank and assessment and monitoring authority will go a long way in ensuring the fact that Indian democracy is moving towards maturity and that it meets the standards set by modern day democracies around the world.
The following initiatives will yield better results both at the level of State and National government frameworks:
Markets, Credit and Employment:
City/ town specific modernization, marketing and export schemes for products produced by artisans. Access to bank and cooperative credit to facilitate production, gradation, packaging and exports. Easy access to bank and micro-credit programs for promotion of self-employment.
Promote food-processing industries for export of meat, chicken and fish with participation of Muslims in backward and forward markets. Retailing, where many Muslims are engaged is now being hijacked by the organized sector.
Promote environment friendly leather industry with involvement of Muslims and SCs and STs in the backward and forward markets.
Strengthen the backward and forward linkages in both credit and product markets in hand loom and power loom sectors to promote production of cotton textiles and Silk.
Provide clearly identified urban space for undertaking vending operations for vegetables, fruits, flowers and other food products with proportionate share for Muslims.
Provide mainstream space to show case crafts produced and manufactured by Muslim artisans. The artisans are feeling the heat of technological inventions, and their livelihood is endangered.
Recognize self-help groups from amongst the Muslim communities. Enable registration of Muslim oriented civil society organizations.
Social Services:
Ensure ICDS centres in Muslim dominated area to be managed by Muslim Women and attach libraries and provide reading material.
Ensure presence of Muslim men and women in adequate proportion in local panchayats. Nominate Muslim women and men in panchayats where they cannot get elected due either to local political factors or due to smaller numbers.
Recruit Muslim men and women in regular schools as teachers, assistants and administrative staff in all types of public schools, not necessarily in schools for Muslim boys and girls.
Appoint Muslims in Police and other institutions meant for protection of public property such as the railways, border security force and so on.
Recruit Muslim men and women in regular rural health programmes such as doctors and surgeons, ANMs, health assistants, extension workers.
Draft Muslim men and women in public employment programmes. Promote inter-faith committees in all locations with Muslim concentrations. Promote membership of Muslims in the urban housing societies.
Muslim Community itself must take Initiatives of the following type:
In today’s time ‘knowledge’ is becoming central to all paths of progress and that is where Muslims have to strive hard. Chart out strategies and accumulate resources to promote educating amongst the poorer sections of Muslim community. Promote compulsory 7 years of education amongst both boys and girls.
Promote appropriate technical education (computer linked) such as the Indian Technical Institutes for those who are failed at the matriculation and pre-university levels.
Establish transparency in managing Islamic institutions such as the Wakf and Mosque committees. The resources including from Zakat and other donations along with Wakfs should be targeted to the poorest amongst the Muslim community. Welfare activity must not end at construction of mosques, but also to ensure measurable transfer of welfare gains to the society.
Establish small and medium enterprise program to promote manufacturing of goods such as, soups, shampoos, pulses, dairy, spices, edible oil, wheat flour, homemade pickles, homemade drinks, home made sugar, cosmetics, hatchery, skin processing, poultry, cattle feed, rearing of cattle, sheep & goat, garment manufacturing, lime kilns, gaur gum units, hydrated lime, plastic goods dyes, colour and chemicals, textile processing units, toothpaste, toothbrush, shaving creams, hair dyes, jewellery etc. and things which are being used in everyday life by common man. There is a need to eliminate the middlemen though the establishment of SHGs. All these products would be “halal” products and the whole community would be galvanized to buy these Sharia compliant products without much marketing efforts.
I Initiate an anti-dowry movement amongst the Muslim communities so as to become a model for the whole of population in India. Imbibe nationalism amongst boys and girls in young ages by promoting respect to national flag and national anthem. There can be a Muslim way to saluting the national flag and ‘sare jahan se achha hindustan hamara’ must be used as the national anthem along with ‘jana gana mana’.
There is widespread absence of civil society groups with a focus on Muslim advancement, who could play a vital role in the implementation and monitoring processes of various Muslim oriented programs. This challenge could be addressed by encouraging Muslims to set up civil society groups, and even offering some Masjid Committees to take over this role until a full fledged civil society group emerges in the locality as a meaningful alternative. But the latter decision need to be carefully made so that such initiatives should not result empowering Muslim clergy class who are often known for regressive interpretation of Islam denying gender equality to Muslim women. The secular development intervention needs to have enough space for Muslim girl’s education and advancement, without which addressing Muslim backwardness could be entirely impossible.
The intellectual and political leadership addressing the issue of Muslim backwardness is led by largely non-Muslims indicating consolidation of secular content of India’s public debate. The Muslim community must continue to engage one and all strategically so as get integrated into the mainstream democratic value system enshrined in the Indian constitution. Promote importance of protecting public property, community infrastructure and place of worship of all religions and castes.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Policy Induced Employment Generation and Sustenance of Household Income: A case of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India
“Helping the poor manage risks and opportunities”
1. Introduction
India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS also NREGA) a unique rural works program (RWP) supported by legal entitlements operating since three years in all rural parts of India has created conflicting scenarios of hope and despair amongst the development practitioners. Hope, as it has necessary elements to address short term ‘consumption-smoothening’ and then a drive for improving ‘sustainable rural livelihoods’ through spillover effects; thus enabling ‘the poor manage risks and opportunities’. The nregs agency reports that 33.7 million households were provided with 1.43 billion man days of wage employment and distributed close to Rs. 86 billion (about US$ 2 billion) during 2007-8 alone. The absolute large numbers suggests a vibrant and efficient program implementation that matched stated policy and targets. Despair, since nregs suffers from systemic problems and hurdles normally known to plague large scale nation-wide schemes, besides ineffective legal entitlements. Yet reforms are possible through technological support, especially IT-enabled and government’s resolve to overcome hurdles. Devolution of power to third tier of governance at the grassroots-panchayats, enshrined in the 73rd constitutional amendment also provides a ray of hope. Given the expanse and a lack of institutional competence in governing the complex system of nrega implementation, India’s marginalized have to strive hard to seek participation and a say in local level decision making. It is interesting to know if this program has cost effective poverty alleviating characteristics and since it is a gigantic program, one of the largest in the world it can have both local and global ramifications as well.
2. Rationale for Rural Works Program (RWP)
Distribution of national resources amongst citizens takes place through the process of employment generation and opportunities for paid work. A large share of workers in many emerging economies is occupied in traditional rural vocations and crafts that barely register productivity growth. At any point in time many are unemployed or work at less than potential due to systemic and idiosyncratic factors. Generating employment, therefore, to enable vulnerable groups enhance consumption possibilities and sustain income is normally a national priority policy.
Reminiscent of reconstruction of post-depression West, and public works in US during 1970s, the Keynesian and Hicksian prescriptions to full employment are as much relevant contemporary populous South Asia. Infrastructure oriented mass employment programs were pursued as a panacea to achieve consumption smoothening linked welfare effects and enhancing savings led investments furthering economic activities to full employment. Recognizing that contemporary less developed countries possess characteristics different from erstwhile industrialized ones before they developed - a Kuznetenian view; in the real world of imperfections, such as during 1942-45 famine in Bengal, it became clear as to how lack of employment and earning opportunities lead to impoverishment, debilitation and death. Policy induced RWPs therefore were programmatic efforts to generate nonfarm employment to sustain consumption and income especially during conditions of distress caused by drought, natural disasters, market failure in distribution of food items and so on (Sen, 1981). Importance of policy and program action for employment generation to ensure food security amongst poor instead of direct food subsidy strategies in developing economics have been compulsively argued by von Braun (1995). Thus RWPs in countries like India are long term, carry multiple objectives; and a policy response to alleviate economic deprivation would also have other favorable complementarities. For example, the sense of assured wages can reduce precautionary savings leading to improved consumption that can trigger markets even in rural hinterland. Further, somewhat assured employment and associated wage gains may in fact promote agriculture which can be seen not only as risk taking but also risk mitigating strategy, and RWPs have potential to lay successful foundations for growth of a mixed economy as well. Over all mass employment generation strategy do not consider direct food subsidy to vulnerable a prudent strategy, and limitations of direct food subsidy polices are now well known (Pinstrup-Andersen, 1993). It is also pointed out that entitlement based benefits can yield best results when communities are adequately empowered so as to seek participation in programs at volition (Streeten, 2002; Weinberger, 2000).
3. The NREGA - Panacea of a sort
India’s nrega launched in 2005 is seen as a mechanism of income transfer, infrastructure development and promoting rural production and consumption markets - a multifarious strategy (Fig 1). It has found priority policy attention in India’s 11th five year plan (2007-12) under a broader objective of ‘Bharat Nirman’ aiming for resurgence in rural areas. Some consider nrega a natural response to non-inclusive growth that occurred during reforms process of last about two decades. The format of nrega and its nationwide implementation was a result of persistence by civil society and activists which is a common mechanism to influence policy in India. Even IFPRI made a strong policy advice to reorient social safety nets and create more employment in rural India (von Braun et. al. 2005). NREGS is unique, being large in size , intended to cover long periods, disburse huge funds and be dynamically responsive to climatic and rainfall conditions and above all open to any adult intending to work for wages often lower than local causal wages. Since self-targeting is inherent to scheme, besides chronic poverty manifest for example in food inadequacy, it also intends to mitigate idiosyncratic risks and shocks faced by households due to being differently-abled or death of earning member. This scheme can attract attention of unemployed or underemployed because of immediate income (cash) transfer through 100 days assured work is an inbuilt short-term relief objective. Indian policy appears confident that nregs can be important normally, even in the absence of price or income shocks and that it will smoothen seasonal fluctuations in labor demand and, therefore, wage rates in rural areas where rainfall patterns and insufficient irrigation preclude year-round crop cultivation.
Multiple and somewhat optimistic expected implications of NREGA
Protective : assistance ensuring consumption smoothening and immediate welfare
Preventive : insurance facilitating risk taking such as investment in agriculture
Promotive : economic stimulus, through cash accumulation, local production and enhancing markets
- harmonize labor market, promote rural nonfarm employment (RNFE) and equalize wage rates;
- create durable physical assets impacting local eco-system and climate change;
- facilitate human capital formation through skill development; and
- alleviate poverty, effect equity, reduce distress migration and empower women.
The listed issues, however, are yet to be thoroughly investigated in the context of nrega.
The ‘right to work’ is a ‘directive principle’ in Indian Constitution and this was formalized through enactment of the NREGA (2005) . This Scheme draws upon positive experiences of reducing human distress by Maharashtra ‘employment guarantee scheme’ over the past three decades beginning early 1970s (Moore and Jadhav 2006, See Dreze and Sen 1989, Dev, 1995, Dev et al 2004). The Act also aims at ‘generation of productive assets, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration, fostering social equity and environmental protection, among others.’ NREGA if implemented with due earnest has potential not only for reducing vulnerability and relieving chronic income deprivation and improve rural livelihood security but also construction of durable assets and markets in rural areas.
4. What do we know about the Impact of NREGS?
(a) Poverty Impact and Fiscal implications
Before formalizing the Act, government agencies estimated that full coverage of nregs will cost Rs. 400 billion (about US$ 9-10 billion) which was about 1% of GDP. An assessment of impact on poverty at 2005 statutory wage rate by Murgai and Ravallion (2005) suggest that nrega could help reduce rural poverty to 23 per cent during lean season, at annual cost of 1.7 per cent of GDP. Dreze based on simple average minimum wage aggregates of all states estimates the national cost of nrega to be 1.3% of GDP per annum. Similar estimates were made by Shariff (2004) and a case was made that nrega will be sensitive to prevailing minimum wages in respective states.
The allocation and expenditure on nregs during first two years of implementation were low due to staggered implementation; yet for full coverage of 610 districts in 2008-9, only Rs. 160 billion ( 0.37% GDP) were allocated. NREGA expenditure for 2007-8 although 0.23 % of GDP compares well with other national programs namely targeted ‘public distribution system (PDS)’ of food products (0.13% GDP) and ICDS (0.10% GDP) respectively. However, a cost-benefit estimate for erstwhile MEGS compared with PDS suggested a ratio of 21.6 % for the former and meager 11.2% for the latter (Parikh et. al. 2007). While there are substantial improvements lately, the relative efficiency differentials are likely to prevail. The Indian safety net programs appear huge in terms of allocations and coverage but reach a small proportion of poor and only nominal benefits are received by them (see Table 1).
Table 1: Expenditures and coverage of selected safety nets in India
(2007-08)
Schemes Actual Expenditure as % of GDP Gross* Transfer per HH
(in Rs.) Households Covered
(in millions) Covered as % of All Relevant HHs
NREGS 0.23 3603 27.3 19.7
TPDS 0.13 604 90.2 47
ICDS 0.10 4384 69.15 50.35
. NREGS: National Rural Guarantee Scheme; TPDS: Targeted Public Distribution Scheme; ICDS: Integrated Child Development Services.
2. Relevant are all rural HHs in case of NREGA and ICDS; and all HHs in case of TPDS
3. State adjusted expenditures of main ICDS and Supplementary nutrition under ICDS programs
4. Amount per child per year. 5. Children * Not adjusted for expenditures on management, leakages and material costs in which case the net amount will be much lower.
Given both low allocation and under-utilization of funds, further financial expansion of nrega may not impact national level fiscal deficits adversely even if no additional tax or levy is imposed; nor does one expect that nregs proceeds would cause inflation in the local economy. An increased cash flow amongst wage workers will pushup local demand and prices, but a simultaneous accelerating effect on local product market associated with broad based income growth will dampen the inflationary impact. However, nregs appear good in reducing risks and vulnerability, but not sufficient to eliminate poverty in India.
(b) Popular Reviews: NREGS still is in formative stage of implementation, therefore, a comprehensive assessment not available. Although previous programs of similar nature were academically studied, the case of nregs is different because of legal empowerment that Act bestows upon those needy, which has prompted an entirely different set of social and political dynamics in rural India. The program is expected to address variable and unpredictable local employment needs by perceiving and assessing needs by community itself - a kind of early warning system of sorts, where the local community decides when to initiate mass employment program. The competing objectives of generating ‘employment’ and creating ‘physical assets / infrastructure’ can lead to mismatch in allocations, and it appears the former take precedence over the other. Balancing objectives of program needs large organizational skills, proximate involvement and commitment of the local level functionaries. The functionality of Indian bureaucracy especially of RWPs always depended upon private contractors, who can engineer shifts in focus, for example, making nrega a normal/regular construction project.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG, 2007) of India made a nationwide assessment of nregs and highlighted serious systemic failures including lack of implementative framework at gram- panchayats. Corruption and dominance of private agents in nregs was also discovered (Commissioners of the Supreme Court of India). For nrega to succeed, the local level functionaries and panchayat must work in tandem, but often overriding influence and interference occur by local contractor who normally is a politician or have political patronage (Fig 2). The local civil society institutions are non-existent and if found unable to penetrate collision between stakeholders and contractors. There is a case to effect systemic change in administrative and implementative structures to ensure that poor get benefits out of nregs (see also Ambasta et. al. 2008).
The panchayts - or micro-local level operative space needs a thorough understanding, which has a large variability across time and space with respect to dynamic relationships amongst the stake holders. Institutional convergence and synergies are essential with other local level actors such as the school system especially the sarva shiksha abhyan (SSA) aimed to improve education infrastructure across rural areas; integrated child development services (ICDS) which is in dire need of space and cooking arrangements; village level potable water and sanitation requirements and so on (refer Fig. 1). The limitation of 60:40 that restrain enhanced material inputs can be addressed through convergence, and mutual supplementation will help overcome respective deficiency of lack of funds for wage payments (Kidwai, 2008).
While nregs suffers from large exclusion errors due to poor coverage, one finds some hope due to greater access that it gives to women, the SCs and the STs (Chandrasekhar and Ghosh, 2009).
A recent field study of vulnerable rural households in seven north Indian states (Shariff, 2008) suggests, that community participation, information sharing, formulation of an opinion of program and social networks stands out as dominating factors that enhances maximization of receipts from nrega. Such attributes are normally prevalent amongst ‘rural middle class’ and therefore poorest of the poor within a micro locality are most likely to face entry barrier to nregs. Mechanisms to overcome such anomalies are available, for example, beneficiary participation and partnerships with local civil society and NGOs are known to have helped in ensuring transparency, equity, timeliness, financial prudence and quality assurance in delivery of public services. Such partnership also strengthens institutional capacity at the grassroots. The future reforms or nregs-course correction must address such anomalies, lest the program is held ransom to middle class values.
(c) Spatial Heterogeneity in Outcomes: Given a vast expanse in which nrega is implemented one expects interstate differentials in implementation, coverage, reach and efficacy partly due to staggered and lagged universalization, administrative bottlenecks unique to each state, differential level and competence of state bureaucracies and so on. A review of studies points to poor implementation; for example, in Jharkhand due to absence of panchayat institutions (Bhatia and Dreze 2006). The problem in Orissa is attributed to systemic (state) bureaucratic failure to put in place transparent implementation of nregs. Large scale leakages and corruption are rampant; all possible due to absence of documentation system amenable for crosschecks for accuracy of record keeping. Some found that professional assessment of nregs in Orissa is impossible due to lack of documentation (Dreze, et al. 2007), and the situation in Bihar is not encouraging either (Pankaj or Sharma 2006).
There are unsatisfactory assessment reports even from Kerala, a state with successful panchayati raj administration; and given high levels of literacy, rights based nregs should worked better. Recent attempt of bank account linked nregs payment could reduce leakages in Kerala (Jacob and Varghese, 2006). The silver lining for the scheme appeared from Rajasthan (Shivakumar 2006, Dreze, et al. 2007) which provides much needed confidence to strive for improvement and continuity of nregs. NREGS in Rajasthan is accessible to the traditionally vulnerable such as agricultural laborers, small and marginal farmers, the Scheduled Tribe and the Scheduled Castes (Jha et al 2008); there are also positive reports of transparent and open audit system for monitoring and on the spot assessment. Rajasthan scheme is also gender sensitive, women constituting over 70% of nregs workers and income thus generated has enabled households in reducing variability of their earnings (Scandizzo, et al., 2007).
5. Discussion and Policy Conclusions
In conclusions it is useful to emphasize, that future of nregs, which is now a legal entitlement for the deprived living in rural areas, is securely tied with functioning of the panchayati raj institutions in India. To some this scheme is a consolidation of democratic process and appears revolutionary! But test of the success of such a large scheme is in its ability to carry vulnerable and the poor on board and keep them there for extended period of time. Further mechanism for an exit from nregs is a useful policy to think about. Due to deepening effects on farming and increase in land productivity the household incomes can rise above poverty line or at a level when reservation-wage will be more than nregs-wage, in which case many marginal and small farmers, may not further nregs work. This aspect is not recognized and no policy guide lines exist as ‘exit strategy’. It is useful to document the processes which provide leads to nregs’s relevance for poverty alleviation through improvement in agriculture.
The nregs is susceptible to both ‘an entry barrier leading to exclusion error’, and large inclusion errors reflecting poor governance. While policy reforms and even public debates emphasize elimination of inclusion errors, what is absolutely not considered or even recognized is that exclusion errors are large and detrimental due to high probability that poorest of the poor are at high risk of such exclusion. Strategies to improve program efficiency must be undertaken jointly and concurrently by strengthening local self governance with clear distinctions made between political, administrative and fiscal decentralization; reforms in nregs is also needed to ensure that excluded are give a passage if necessary through special efforts to get into the folds of scheme. In this regard it is beneficial that political and administrative decentralization precedes the financial one, but it appears that such a stepwise transition has not taken a clear shape in nregs implementation.
Since the breakdown of jajmani system a large number of wage workers and artisan have come out of bondage, but are pushed towards penury due to the breakdown of traditional support systems. Although, wage determination was highly exploitative and imperfect in jajmani system, it provided job stability. NREGS is by far a late response to provide safety net for such vulnerable workforce. While nregs payment is pegged to state minimum wages, what is not well known is its impact on regular manual agricultural wages during the peak and slack agriculture season. This has relevance to food output and larger food security issues of the region and subsequently of country as a whole. There are demands to incorporate amendments in the Act so as to enable extended coverage of the program especially aligning with agricultural season.
In the following are useful policy highlights of the nregs:
• A rural sector reform: NREGA is considered an unprecedented opportunity to build social foundation for safety nets; facilitating inclusive growth and reforming the rural sector in India.
• The Scheme has potential to promote not only private gains at the level of individuals and households; but also regional and national level public good through empowerment of rural labor force, reduction in poverty, positive environmental and climatic outcomes.
• NREGS enables strengthening of panchayat raj institutions through staff appointments, record-keeping and financial management. There are a number of issues relating to integrity and assessing impact that are relevant.
• Democratic process: Community participation, information sharing, formulation of an opinion by rural residents about a scheme and social networks stands out as dominating factors that enhances maximization of receipts from nrega. These mechanisms empower communities and strengthen democratic process and enable the program inclusionary.
• Given the confines of village, striving for convergence through inter-sectoral allocations so as to enhance share of material inputs will yield better outcomes. Such inter and intra-institutional reforms will improve accounting and technical skills of functionaries at the grassroots.
• Technology linked implementation of nregs, for example, wage payment through bank accounts and post office is desirable, but not yet clear if this is sustainable due to high transaction costs.
• Multiple types of convergence and synergies are possible with nregs as below:
Gender Empowering: The nregs program has facilitated women’s participation and cash earning can be complementary to another revolutionary program of micro-credit across India. This synergy will create unprecedented levels of positive outcomes empowering women in India. A highly desirable intra-household dynamics favoring children, women, differently able, the old and infirm can become functional.
Social Capital: A natural linkage of nregs is with access to food. The cash wage payment can be usefully linked with the public distribution system (PDS) of essential commodities. If nregs cash is used to buy food supplied through PDS, the families will net greater (compounded) benefit and consequent nutrition gain could be the most durable developmental outcome. Similarly synergies are possible with mid-day meals scheme in schools benefitting child nutrition and higher enrolment.
Physical Asset Creation: Synergistic linking of nregs with projects working on common property resources such as the micro-water sheds, afforestation, road building and so on could extend benefits to all irrespective of economic standing such as by enhancing farm production and increased access to markets, improving education and health conditions. Extended coverage of nregs to the land less say through home building, managing and improving forests, providing technical training and similar activities may have to be envisioned sooner than later.
• Labor market distortion: NREGS does impact labor markets at least by distorting seasonal rural to rural migration; and also through wage equalization mechanism. Various complexities inherent in labor market distortions should be carefully documented and subject of further research.
• Social conflict: It was intended that nregs wages should not be too high or too low, but such that poor when they intend can seek employment on demand (see also Ravallion et.al. 1993). Since this is not the case nregs is set to alter traditional labor and landlord relationships causing local level community conflict which can sabotage the efforts of the entire program. It is necessary to device some sort of ‘cooperative conflict’ resolution mechanism that enables both the relatively better-off and the poor within the community to come together for employment creation and asset formation. In this context, identifying work sites and synergies with other program that produce public good within the local geographic space seems possible. Another mechanism is to enable local level nregs wage fixation aligned with agricultural season. Conflict resolution mechanisms needs to be urgently integrated in to nregs.
• NREGA promotes civil society activity and helps create new leadership at the micro-rural spaces.
• Agricultural Productivity: Broad based rural development is possible as nrega will wield direct and indirect impact on agriculture by increasing land productivity or expanding cropping area, plantations and horticulture. Additionally enhancing and sustaining bio-mass production, grassland and pastures that promote livestock, dairying and related production and markets?
• Climate Change: One third of India’s population lives in an around forest and nrega can be forest friendly though protection and afforestation works. Water moves through forests and connections between forest management and attendant hydrologic effects will have impact on climate change. NREGS has potential to reduce the desertification process in India.
In spite of powerful demands from the monitoring agencies, academics and activists, one finds lack of coordinated government level initiative, innovation and interventions to improve the program. In the end it must be stated that nregs has potential to provide social security to the masses only if its implementation is efficient and synergies are exploited. India should not miss another opportunity to demonstrate that world’s largest democracy also cares for its people especially the deprived and vulnerable, and that it truly is marching ahead to become a welfare state.
References:
Ambasta, P., Shankar P. S, V., Shah, M. (2008). Two Years of NREGA: The road ahead, Economic and Political Weekly, 43(08):41-50.
Bhatia, B. and J. Dreze (2006): Employment Guarantee in Jharkand: Ground Realities, Economic and Political Weekly, July 22: 3198-3202.
Chandrasekhar C.P., and J. Ghosh. (2005). ‘Social Inclusion in the NREGS’, Business Line (India), January 27.
Dev, M., C. Ravi, B. Viswanathan, A. Gulati and S. Ramachandar (2004): Economic Liberalization, Targeted Programmes and Household Food Security: A Case Study of India, Discussion Paper no. 68, Markets, Trade and Industry Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC.
Dreze, J., Khera, Reethika and Sidharth, (2007). NREGA in Orissa: Ten loopholes and the silver lining; Interim survey report (mimio), Survey conducted by G.B Pant Science Institute.
Jacob, A. and R. Varghese (2006): Reasonable Beginning in Palakkad, Kerala,” Economic and Political Weekly, December 2: 4943-45.
Jha, R., Gaiha, Raghav and Shankar, Shylashri. (2008). Reviewing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme; Economic and Political Weekly, 43(11):44-48.
Kidwai, J. (2008). Implementation of NREGA in two Naxal-affect Districts of Bihar, presented in an international seminar on National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India: Impacts and Implementation Experiences, September 16-17, 2008, organized by Institute of Human Development, New Delhi.
McCord, A (2009). Public Works Programmes in Developing Countries: A framework for critical reflection, presented in an international seminar on rural poverty: key initiatives in achieving millennium development goals and the role of NREGA’ organized by Planning Commission and UNDP. New Delhi, India, January 21-22 2009.
Moore, M. and V. Jadhav (2006): The Politics and Bureaucratics of Rural Public Works: Maharashtra’s Employment Guaranteed Scheme, Journal of Development Studies, 42 (8): 1271-1300. (Online publication date 01 November 2006)
Murgai, R. and Ravallion, M. (2005). Employment Guarantee in Rural: What would it cost and how much will it reduce poverty, Economic and Political Weekly, 40 (31):pp3450-3455.
Pankaj, A. and A. Sharma (2006). Evaluation and Impact Assessment of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Bihar, Institute for Human Development, New Delhi.
Pinstrup-Andersen, P., (ed.) (1993). The political economy of food and nutrition policies, Baltimore, Md., USA: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Parikh. K., M. Deve and A. Shariff. (2007). ‘Antipoverty programs in India: Are they pro-poor?’, in A. Gulati and S. Fan (eds). The Dragon and the Elephant: Agricultural and rural reforms in China and India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Scandizzo, P., Gaiha, R., & Imai, K. (2007). ‘Does the Employment Guarantee Scheme stabilize the incomes of households in rural India?’; Paper provided by Economics, The University of Manchester in its series The School of Economics Discussion Paper Series, Number 0706.
Sen, A. (1981). Poverty and Famine: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, New York: Oxford University Press.
Shariff, A. (2008). ‘Access and use of India’s “National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme”: An Empirical Assessment’ (mimeo) by Abusaleh Shariff, IFPRI, New Delhi.
Shariff, A. (2004). Minimum Wage key to UPA’s Employment Programme, The Hindu Business Line, July 21, New Delhi Edition.
Sivakumar, S. K. (2006). Walking with a purpose, Frontline, 23(9).
Streeten, P. (2002). Empowerment, participation and the poor, Occasional Paper, Human Development Report Office, New York: United Nations Development Program.
von Braun, J. (1995). Employment for poverty reduction and food security: concepts, research issues and overview’, in von Braun, J. (ed.) Employment for Poverty Reduction and Food Security; pp1-20, Washington D.C: International Food Policy Research Institute.
Von Braun, J., A. Gulati, P. Hazell, M. W. Rosegrant and M. Ruel (2005). ‘Indian Agriculture and Rural Development: Strategic Issues and Reform Options’, Policy Note, Washington D.C: International Food Policy Research Institute.
Weinberger, K. (2000). Women’s participation: An economic analysis in rural Chad and Pakistan, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Europaischer Verlag der Wissenschaften.
1. Introduction
India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS also NREGA) a unique rural works program (RWP) supported by legal entitlements operating since three years in all rural parts of India has created conflicting scenarios of hope and despair amongst the development practitioners. Hope, as it has necessary elements to address short term ‘consumption-smoothening’ and then a drive for improving ‘sustainable rural livelihoods’ through spillover effects; thus enabling ‘the poor manage risks and opportunities’. The nregs agency reports that 33.7 million households were provided with 1.43 billion man days of wage employment and distributed close to Rs. 86 billion (about US$ 2 billion) during 2007-8 alone. The absolute large numbers suggests a vibrant and efficient program implementation that matched stated policy and targets. Despair, since nregs suffers from systemic problems and hurdles normally known to plague large scale nation-wide schemes, besides ineffective legal entitlements. Yet reforms are possible through technological support, especially IT-enabled and government’s resolve to overcome hurdles. Devolution of power to third tier of governance at the grassroots-panchayats, enshrined in the 73rd constitutional amendment also provides a ray of hope. Given the expanse and a lack of institutional competence in governing the complex system of nrega implementation, India’s marginalized have to strive hard to seek participation and a say in local level decision making. It is interesting to know if this program has cost effective poverty alleviating characteristics and since it is a gigantic program, one of the largest in the world it can have both local and global ramifications as well.
2. Rationale for Rural Works Program (RWP)
Distribution of national resources amongst citizens takes place through the process of employment generation and opportunities for paid work. A large share of workers in many emerging economies is occupied in traditional rural vocations and crafts that barely register productivity growth. At any point in time many are unemployed or work at less than potential due to systemic and idiosyncratic factors. Generating employment, therefore, to enable vulnerable groups enhance consumption possibilities and sustain income is normally a national priority policy.
Reminiscent of reconstruction of post-depression West, and public works in US during 1970s, the Keynesian and Hicksian prescriptions to full employment are as much relevant contemporary populous South Asia. Infrastructure oriented mass employment programs were pursued as a panacea to achieve consumption smoothening linked welfare effects and enhancing savings led investments furthering economic activities to full employment. Recognizing that contemporary less developed countries possess characteristics different from erstwhile industrialized ones before they developed - a Kuznetenian view; in the real world of imperfections, such as during 1942-45 famine in Bengal, it became clear as to how lack of employment and earning opportunities lead to impoverishment, debilitation and death. Policy induced RWPs therefore were programmatic efforts to generate nonfarm employment to sustain consumption and income especially during conditions of distress caused by drought, natural disasters, market failure in distribution of food items and so on (Sen, 1981). Importance of policy and program action for employment generation to ensure food security amongst poor instead of direct food subsidy strategies in developing economics have been compulsively argued by von Braun (1995). Thus RWPs in countries like India are long term, carry multiple objectives; and a policy response to alleviate economic deprivation would also have other favorable complementarities. For example, the sense of assured wages can reduce precautionary savings leading to improved consumption that can trigger markets even in rural hinterland. Further, somewhat assured employment and associated wage gains may in fact promote agriculture which can be seen not only as risk taking but also risk mitigating strategy, and RWPs have potential to lay successful foundations for growth of a mixed economy as well. Over all mass employment generation strategy do not consider direct food subsidy to vulnerable a prudent strategy, and limitations of direct food subsidy polices are now well known (Pinstrup-Andersen, 1993). It is also pointed out that entitlement based benefits can yield best results when communities are adequately empowered so as to seek participation in programs at volition (Streeten, 2002; Weinberger, 2000).
3. The NREGA - Panacea of a sort
India’s nrega launched in 2005 is seen as a mechanism of income transfer, infrastructure development and promoting rural production and consumption markets - a multifarious strategy (Fig 1). It has found priority policy attention in India’s 11th five year plan (2007-12) under a broader objective of ‘Bharat Nirman’ aiming for resurgence in rural areas. Some consider nrega a natural response to non-inclusive growth that occurred during reforms process of last about two decades. The format of nrega and its nationwide implementation was a result of persistence by civil society and activists which is a common mechanism to influence policy in India. Even IFPRI made a strong policy advice to reorient social safety nets and create more employment in rural India (von Braun et. al. 2005). NREGS is unique, being large in size , intended to cover long periods, disburse huge funds and be dynamically responsive to climatic and rainfall conditions and above all open to any adult intending to work for wages often lower than local causal wages. Since self-targeting is inherent to scheme, besides chronic poverty manifest for example in food inadequacy, it also intends to mitigate idiosyncratic risks and shocks faced by households due to being differently-abled or death of earning member. This scheme can attract attention of unemployed or underemployed because of immediate income (cash) transfer through 100 days assured work is an inbuilt short-term relief objective. Indian policy appears confident that nregs can be important normally, even in the absence of price or income shocks and that it will smoothen seasonal fluctuations in labor demand and, therefore, wage rates in rural areas where rainfall patterns and insufficient irrigation preclude year-round crop cultivation.
Multiple and somewhat optimistic expected implications of NREGA
Protective : assistance ensuring consumption smoothening and immediate welfare
Preventive : insurance facilitating risk taking such as investment in agriculture
Promotive : economic stimulus, through cash accumulation, local production and enhancing markets
- harmonize labor market, promote rural nonfarm employment (RNFE) and equalize wage rates;
- create durable physical assets impacting local eco-system and climate change;
- facilitate human capital formation through skill development; and
- alleviate poverty, effect equity, reduce distress migration and empower women.
The listed issues, however, are yet to be thoroughly investigated in the context of nrega.
The ‘right to work’ is a ‘directive principle’ in Indian Constitution and this was formalized through enactment of the NREGA (2005) . This Scheme draws upon positive experiences of reducing human distress by Maharashtra ‘employment guarantee scheme’ over the past three decades beginning early 1970s (Moore and Jadhav 2006, See Dreze and Sen 1989, Dev, 1995, Dev et al 2004). The Act also aims at ‘generation of productive assets, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration, fostering social equity and environmental protection, among others.’ NREGA if implemented with due earnest has potential not only for reducing vulnerability and relieving chronic income deprivation and improve rural livelihood security but also construction of durable assets and markets in rural areas.
4. What do we know about the Impact of NREGS?
(a) Poverty Impact and Fiscal implications
Before formalizing the Act, government agencies estimated that full coverage of nregs will cost Rs. 400 billion (about US$ 9-10 billion) which was about 1% of GDP. An assessment of impact on poverty at 2005 statutory wage rate by Murgai and Ravallion (2005) suggest that nrega could help reduce rural poverty to 23 per cent during lean season, at annual cost of 1.7 per cent of GDP. Dreze based on simple average minimum wage aggregates of all states estimates the national cost of nrega to be 1.3% of GDP per annum. Similar estimates were made by Shariff (2004) and a case was made that nrega will be sensitive to prevailing minimum wages in respective states.
The allocation and expenditure on nregs during first two years of implementation were low due to staggered implementation; yet for full coverage of 610 districts in 2008-9, only Rs. 160 billion ( 0.37% GDP) were allocated. NREGA expenditure for 2007-8 although 0.23 % of GDP compares well with other national programs namely targeted ‘public distribution system (PDS)’ of food products (0.13% GDP) and ICDS (0.10% GDP) respectively. However, a cost-benefit estimate for erstwhile MEGS compared with PDS suggested a ratio of 21.6 % for the former and meager 11.2% for the latter (Parikh et. al. 2007). While there are substantial improvements lately, the relative efficiency differentials are likely to prevail. The Indian safety net programs appear huge in terms of allocations and coverage but reach a small proportion of poor and only nominal benefits are received by them (see Table 1).
Table 1: Expenditures and coverage of selected safety nets in India
(2007-08)
Schemes Actual Expenditure as % of GDP Gross* Transfer per HH
(in Rs.) Households Covered
(in millions) Covered as % of All Relevant HHs
NREGS 0.23 3603 27.3 19.7
TPDS 0.13 604 90.2 47
ICDS 0.10 4384 69.15 50.35
. NREGS: National Rural Guarantee Scheme; TPDS: Targeted Public Distribution Scheme; ICDS: Integrated Child Development Services.
2. Relevant are all rural HHs in case of NREGA and ICDS; and all HHs in case of TPDS
3. State adjusted expenditures of main ICDS and Supplementary nutrition under ICDS programs
4. Amount per child per year. 5. Children * Not adjusted for expenditures on management, leakages and material costs in which case the net amount will be much lower.
Given both low allocation and under-utilization of funds, further financial expansion of nrega may not impact national level fiscal deficits adversely even if no additional tax or levy is imposed; nor does one expect that nregs proceeds would cause inflation in the local economy. An increased cash flow amongst wage workers will pushup local demand and prices, but a simultaneous accelerating effect on local product market associated with broad based income growth will dampen the inflationary impact. However, nregs appear good in reducing risks and vulnerability, but not sufficient to eliminate poverty in India.
(b) Popular Reviews: NREGS still is in formative stage of implementation, therefore, a comprehensive assessment not available. Although previous programs of similar nature were academically studied, the case of nregs is different because of legal empowerment that Act bestows upon those needy, which has prompted an entirely different set of social and political dynamics in rural India. The program is expected to address variable and unpredictable local employment needs by perceiving and assessing needs by community itself - a kind of early warning system of sorts, where the local community decides when to initiate mass employment program. The competing objectives of generating ‘employment’ and creating ‘physical assets / infrastructure’ can lead to mismatch in allocations, and it appears the former take precedence over the other. Balancing objectives of program needs large organizational skills, proximate involvement and commitment of the local level functionaries. The functionality of Indian bureaucracy especially of RWPs always depended upon private contractors, who can engineer shifts in focus, for example, making nrega a normal/regular construction project.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG, 2007) of India made a nationwide assessment of nregs and highlighted serious systemic failures including lack of implementative framework at gram- panchayats. Corruption and dominance of private agents in nregs was also discovered (Commissioners of the Supreme Court of India). For nrega to succeed, the local level functionaries and panchayat must work in tandem, but often overriding influence and interference occur by local contractor who normally is a politician or have political patronage (Fig 2). The local civil society institutions are non-existent and if found unable to penetrate collision between stakeholders and contractors. There is a case to effect systemic change in administrative and implementative structures to ensure that poor get benefits out of nregs (see also Ambasta et. al. 2008).
The panchayts - or micro-local level operative space needs a thorough understanding, which has a large variability across time and space with respect to dynamic relationships amongst the stake holders. Institutional convergence and synergies are essential with other local level actors such as the school system especially the sarva shiksha abhyan (SSA) aimed to improve education infrastructure across rural areas; integrated child development services (ICDS) which is in dire need of space and cooking arrangements; village level potable water and sanitation requirements and so on (refer Fig. 1). The limitation of 60:40 that restrain enhanced material inputs can be addressed through convergence, and mutual supplementation will help overcome respective deficiency of lack of funds for wage payments (Kidwai, 2008).
While nregs suffers from large exclusion errors due to poor coverage, one finds some hope due to greater access that it gives to women, the SCs and the STs (Chandrasekhar and Ghosh, 2009).
A recent field study of vulnerable rural households in seven north Indian states (Shariff, 2008) suggests, that community participation, information sharing, formulation of an opinion of program and social networks stands out as dominating factors that enhances maximization of receipts from nrega. Such attributes are normally prevalent amongst ‘rural middle class’ and therefore poorest of the poor within a micro locality are most likely to face entry barrier to nregs. Mechanisms to overcome such anomalies are available, for example, beneficiary participation and partnerships with local civil society and NGOs are known to have helped in ensuring transparency, equity, timeliness, financial prudence and quality assurance in delivery of public services. Such partnership also strengthens institutional capacity at the grassroots. The future reforms or nregs-course correction must address such anomalies, lest the program is held ransom to middle class values.
(c) Spatial Heterogeneity in Outcomes: Given a vast expanse in which nrega is implemented one expects interstate differentials in implementation, coverage, reach and efficacy partly due to staggered and lagged universalization, administrative bottlenecks unique to each state, differential level and competence of state bureaucracies and so on. A review of studies points to poor implementation; for example, in Jharkhand due to absence of panchayat institutions (Bhatia and Dreze 2006). The problem in Orissa is attributed to systemic (state) bureaucratic failure to put in place transparent implementation of nregs. Large scale leakages and corruption are rampant; all possible due to absence of documentation system amenable for crosschecks for accuracy of record keeping. Some found that professional assessment of nregs in Orissa is impossible due to lack of documentation (Dreze, et al. 2007), and the situation in Bihar is not encouraging either (Pankaj or Sharma 2006).
There are unsatisfactory assessment reports even from Kerala, a state with successful panchayati raj administration; and given high levels of literacy, rights based nregs should worked better. Recent attempt of bank account linked nregs payment could reduce leakages in Kerala (Jacob and Varghese, 2006). The silver lining for the scheme appeared from Rajasthan (Shivakumar 2006, Dreze, et al. 2007) which provides much needed confidence to strive for improvement and continuity of nregs. NREGS in Rajasthan is accessible to the traditionally vulnerable such as agricultural laborers, small and marginal farmers, the Scheduled Tribe and the Scheduled Castes (Jha et al 2008); there are also positive reports of transparent and open audit system for monitoring and on the spot assessment. Rajasthan scheme is also gender sensitive, women constituting over 70% of nregs workers and income thus generated has enabled households in reducing variability of their earnings (Scandizzo, et al., 2007).
5. Discussion and Policy Conclusions
In conclusions it is useful to emphasize, that future of nregs, which is now a legal entitlement for the deprived living in rural areas, is securely tied with functioning of the panchayati raj institutions in India. To some this scheme is a consolidation of democratic process and appears revolutionary! But test of the success of such a large scheme is in its ability to carry vulnerable and the poor on board and keep them there for extended period of time. Further mechanism for an exit from nregs is a useful policy to think about. Due to deepening effects on farming and increase in land productivity the household incomes can rise above poverty line or at a level when reservation-wage will be more than nregs-wage, in which case many marginal and small farmers, may not further nregs work. This aspect is not recognized and no policy guide lines exist as ‘exit strategy’. It is useful to document the processes which provide leads to nregs’s relevance for poverty alleviation through improvement in agriculture.
The nregs is susceptible to both ‘an entry barrier leading to exclusion error’, and large inclusion errors reflecting poor governance. While policy reforms and even public debates emphasize elimination of inclusion errors, what is absolutely not considered or even recognized is that exclusion errors are large and detrimental due to high probability that poorest of the poor are at high risk of such exclusion. Strategies to improve program efficiency must be undertaken jointly and concurrently by strengthening local self governance with clear distinctions made between political, administrative and fiscal decentralization; reforms in nregs is also needed to ensure that excluded are give a passage if necessary through special efforts to get into the folds of scheme. In this regard it is beneficial that political and administrative decentralization precedes the financial one, but it appears that such a stepwise transition has not taken a clear shape in nregs implementation.
Since the breakdown of jajmani system a large number of wage workers and artisan have come out of bondage, but are pushed towards penury due to the breakdown of traditional support systems. Although, wage determination was highly exploitative and imperfect in jajmani system, it provided job stability. NREGS is by far a late response to provide safety net for such vulnerable workforce. While nregs payment is pegged to state minimum wages, what is not well known is its impact on regular manual agricultural wages during the peak and slack agriculture season. This has relevance to food output and larger food security issues of the region and subsequently of country as a whole. There are demands to incorporate amendments in the Act so as to enable extended coverage of the program especially aligning with agricultural season.
In the following are useful policy highlights of the nregs:
• A rural sector reform: NREGA is considered an unprecedented opportunity to build social foundation for safety nets; facilitating inclusive growth and reforming the rural sector in India.
• The Scheme has potential to promote not only private gains at the level of individuals and households; but also regional and national level public good through empowerment of rural labor force, reduction in poverty, positive environmental and climatic outcomes.
• NREGS enables strengthening of panchayat raj institutions through staff appointments, record-keeping and financial management. There are a number of issues relating to integrity and assessing impact that are relevant.
• Democratic process: Community participation, information sharing, formulation of an opinion by rural residents about a scheme and social networks stands out as dominating factors that enhances maximization of receipts from nrega. These mechanisms empower communities and strengthen democratic process and enable the program inclusionary.
• Given the confines of village, striving for convergence through inter-sectoral allocations so as to enhance share of material inputs will yield better outcomes. Such inter and intra-institutional reforms will improve accounting and technical skills of functionaries at the grassroots.
• Technology linked implementation of nregs, for example, wage payment through bank accounts and post office is desirable, but not yet clear if this is sustainable due to high transaction costs.
• Multiple types of convergence and synergies are possible with nregs as below:
Gender Empowering: The nregs program has facilitated women’s participation and cash earning can be complementary to another revolutionary program of micro-credit across India. This synergy will create unprecedented levels of positive outcomes empowering women in India. A highly desirable intra-household dynamics favoring children, women, differently able, the old and infirm can become functional.
Social Capital: A natural linkage of nregs is with access to food. The cash wage payment can be usefully linked with the public distribution system (PDS) of essential commodities. If nregs cash is used to buy food supplied through PDS, the families will net greater (compounded) benefit and consequent nutrition gain could be the most durable developmental outcome. Similarly synergies are possible with mid-day meals scheme in schools benefitting child nutrition and higher enrolment.
Physical Asset Creation: Synergistic linking of nregs with projects working on common property resources such as the micro-water sheds, afforestation, road building and so on could extend benefits to all irrespective of economic standing such as by enhancing farm production and increased access to markets, improving education and health conditions. Extended coverage of nregs to the land less say through home building, managing and improving forests, providing technical training and similar activities may have to be envisioned sooner than later.
• Labor market distortion: NREGS does impact labor markets at least by distorting seasonal rural to rural migration; and also through wage equalization mechanism. Various complexities inherent in labor market distortions should be carefully documented and subject of further research.
• Social conflict: It was intended that nregs wages should not be too high or too low, but such that poor when they intend can seek employment on demand (see also Ravallion et.al. 1993). Since this is not the case nregs is set to alter traditional labor and landlord relationships causing local level community conflict which can sabotage the efforts of the entire program. It is necessary to device some sort of ‘cooperative conflict’ resolution mechanism that enables both the relatively better-off and the poor within the community to come together for employment creation and asset formation. In this context, identifying work sites and synergies with other program that produce public good within the local geographic space seems possible. Another mechanism is to enable local level nregs wage fixation aligned with agricultural season. Conflict resolution mechanisms needs to be urgently integrated in to nregs.
• NREGA promotes civil society activity and helps create new leadership at the micro-rural spaces.
• Agricultural Productivity: Broad based rural development is possible as nrega will wield direct and indirect impact on agriculture by increasing land productivity or expanding cropping area, plantations and horticulture. Additionally enhancing and sustaining bio-mass production, grassland and pastures that promote livestock, dairying and related production and markets?
• Climate Change: One third of India’s population lives in an around forest and nrega can be forest friendly though protection and afforestation works. Water moves through forests and connections between forest management and attendant hydrologic effects will have impact on climate change. NREGS has potential to reduce the desertification process in India.
In spite of powerful demands from the monitoring agencies, academics and activists, one finds lack of coordinated government level initiative, innovation and interventions to improve the program. In the end it must be stated that nregs has potential to provide social security to the masses only if its implementation is efficient and synergies are exploited. India should not miss another opportunity to demonstrate that world’s largest democracy also cares for its people especially the deprived and vulnerable, and that it truly is marching ahead to become a welfare state.
References:
Ambasta, P., Shankar P. S, V., Shah, M. (2008). Two Years of NREGA: The road ahead, Economic and Political Weekly, 43(08):41-50.
Bhatia, B. and J. Dreze (2006): Employment Guarantee in Jharkand: Ground Realities, Economic and Political Weekly, July 22: 3198-3202.
Chandrasekhar C.P., and J. Ghosh. (2005). ‘Social Inclusion in the NREGS’, Business Line (India), January 27.
Dev, M., C. Ravi, B. Viswanathan, A. Gulati and S. Ramachandar (2004): Economic Liberalization, Targeted Programmes and Household Food Security: A Case Study of India, Discussion Paper no. 68, Markets, Trade and Industry Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington DC.
Dreze, J., Khera, Reethika and Sidharth, (2007). NREGA in Orissa: Ten loopholes and the silver lining; Interim survey report (mimio), Survey conducted by G.B Pant Science Institute.
Jacob, A. and R. Varghese (2006): Reasonable Beginning in Palakkad, Kerala,” Economic and Political Weekly, December 2: 4943-45.
Jha, R., Gaiha, Raghav and Shankar, Shylashri. (2008). Reviewing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme; Economic and Political Weekly, 43(11):44-48.
Kidwai, J. (2008). Implementation of NREGA in two Naxal-affect Districts of Bihar, presented in an international seminar on National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India: Impacts and Implementation Experiences, September 16-17, 2008, organized by Institute of Human Development, New Delhi.
McCord, A (2009). Public Works Programmes in Developing Countries: A framework for critical reflection, presented in an international seminar on rural poverty: key initiatives in achieving millennium development goals and the role of NREGA’ organized by Planning Commission and UNDP. New Delhi, India, January 21-22 2009.
Moore, M. and V. Jadhav (2006): The Politics and Bureaucratics of Rural Public Works: Maharashtra’s Employment Guaranteed Scheme, Journal of Development Studies, 42 (8): 1271-1300. (Online publication date 01 November 2006)
Murgai, R. and Ravallion, M. (2005). Employment Guarantee in Rural: What would it cost and how much will it reduce poverty, Economic and Political Weekly, 40 (31):pp3450-3455.
Pankaj, A. and A. Sharma (2006). Evaluation and Impact Assessment of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Bihar, Institute for Human Development, New Delhi.
Pinstrup-Andersen, P., (ed.) (1993). The political economy of food and nutrition policies, Baltimore, Md., USA: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Parikh. K., M. Deve and A. Shariff. (2007). ‘Antipoverty programs in India: Are they pro-poor?’, in A. Gulati and S. Fan (eds). The Dragon and the Elephant: Agricultural and rural reforms in China and India, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Scandizzo, P., Gaiha, R., & Imai, K. (2007). ‘Does the Employment Guarantee Scheme stabilize the incomes of households in rural India?’; Paper provided by Economics, The University of Manchester in its series The School of Economics Discussion Paper Series, Number 0706.
Sen, A. (1981). Poverty and Famine: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation, New York: Oxford University Press.
Shariff, A. (2008). ‘Access and use of India’s “National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme”: An Empirical Assessment’ (mimeo) by Abusaleh Shariff, IFPRI, New Delhi.
Shariff, A. (2004). Minimum Wage key to UPA’s Employment Programme, The Hindu Business Line, July 21, New Delhi Edition.
Sivakumar, S. K. (2006). Walking with a purpose, Frontline, 23(9).
Streeten, P. (2002). Empowerment, participation and the poor, Occasional Paper, Human Development Report Office, New York: United Nations Development Program.
von Braun, J. (1995). Employment for poverty reduction and food security: concepts, research issues and overview’, in von Braun, J. (ed.) Employment for Poverty Reduction and Food Security; pp1-20, Washington D.C: International Food Policy Research Institute.
Von Braun, J., A. Gulati, P. Hazell, M. W. Rosegrant and M. Ruel (2005). ‘Indian Agriculture and Rural Development: Strategic Issues and Reform Options’, Policy Note, Washington D.C: International Food Policy Research Institute.
Weinberger, K. (2000). Women’s participation: An economic analysis in rural Chad and Pakistan, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Europaischer Verlag der Wissenschaften.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Labor Market and Safety Net Program of Research
Concept Note
Assessing Poverty Impact of Changing Structure of Labor and Income in south Asia: People in populous economies typically depend upon the rural and
agricultural occupations for a living. No other region as South Asia characterizes this scenario especially during the second half of the last century. Since about a decade and half, the south Asia, especially India is identified as an emerging economy, where the role of rural occupations and farming is fast declining; while contributions from off-farm sectors such as manufacturing, trade and services has increased manifolds. What is less discussed is the absence of concomitant shifts in labor force from rural-traditional and less efficient occupations to urban oriented off-farm and apparently more productive occupations. The speed with which the ‘economic’ and ‘demographic’ transformation taking place in a particular country or a region are important parameters which provide benchmarks to undertake in depth analysis of the labor market mobility, importance of non farm employment, income growth and reduction in vulnerability and poverty.
One of the challenges in Asia is to accurately trace labor market mobility and associated income changes during fast pace of economic growth1. Given that a large proportion of work force is employed in rural-agricultural vocations, it is imperative to understand the dynamics of rural life and survival strategies that people resort to. Further, labor market reforms in the developing societies should be aimed to ensure fair distribution of income from out of expanding domestic product. This demands mechanisms that not only enhance household income but also enables food and nutrition adequacy and improves basic human capital such as levels of literacy; disease free enhancement of life expectancy and socio-culturally peaceful living.
In this context it is useful to undertake research in the many aspects of labor markets and safety nets, which can provide useful policy directions to over come poverty and vulnerability in the (south) Asian economies:
1. The prevailing spatial market and non-market characteristics that exert pull and push forces to both the capital and labor shifting from the inefficient to efficient sectors of the economy needs a careful understanding. Since migration offers upward economic mobility to those in economically marginal areas, the role of rural to urban migration in sustaining household incomes needs documentation. The current trend of development of growth centers either in the form of ‘development corridors’, ‘urban peripheries’ or even the growth of medium and small towns which are promoting non farm employment and higher incomes are important to be explored. There are reverse associations in the form of commutation,market linkages in goods and services, and remittances from urban to rural areas that will add richness to this analysis. Changes in relative income shares in economy, across time and space, from the cultivators, the self-employed, owners and mangers of micro-enterprises and
manual wage labors are useful information for understanding the impact of market based economic growth in countries of focus.
2. Another area of investigation is the asset ownership profile of farmers, agricultural laborers, artisans and tradesmen in the agriculturally progressive versus marginal areas in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Given a long history of feudalism in the region, it would be appropriate to document land ownership pattern soon after the Independence, subsequently during green revolution and lastly in the contemporary context of consolidation of land both due to lifecycle/cultural factors and as a response to the needs of modern markets (e.g., contract farming). While cultivable land appears to be the dominant asset, both productive as well as contractual in nature; many human capital enhancing assets such as formal education,
skill development and access to working capital would be denting the importance of land assets. The breakdown of the jajmani system in the region seems to have released a large number of wage workers and artisan from the bondage; but could well have pushed them in penury due to the breakdown of traditional support systems; which then get linked with institutions supporting evolution of safety net mechanisms.
3. The institutional mechanisms, emanating either from public programs and/or market orientations, that cushion and sustain favorable changes in movement of labor leading to higher income and consequent welfare at the household level. The mass employment programs promoted by government, micro-credit schemes, micro-enterprise development and trade union activities are a few such institutional mechanisms that can be explored.
Exploring Labor Market Diversity: It appears that while a number of countries are experiencing fast pace of growth in productivity leading to higher income at the level of markets; gains from such growth have not percolated to the households through the mechanisms of distribution of income and governance. South Asia and a number of countries in Asia-pacific appear under grips of such a costly mismatch; and if not addressed urgently, the emerging income and consumption disparities could lead to social unrest besides pushing many households towards long term inter-generational deprivation. It is therefore important to understand and assess the size of labor force in a dynamic frame of demographic transitions and sectoral shifts in workforce and earnings (income shares) in South Asia. Given large social and economic diversity in the regions, it is necessary to empirically harmonize data definitions, identify country specific socio-cultural determinants of occupation choices and institutional constrains, positive program effects that promote agricultural productivity on the one hand and off-farm employment on the other. The facilitating process of rural - urban labor and market linkages which models household behavior mitigating transitory as well as long-term risk of immiserization needs a careful documentation. This is particularly essential when the agrarian social structure is dominant and rural sector retains often upto three-fourths of the work force; especially when the macro-economic growth has reached a higher level during the last couple of decades.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Memberships
- Member of a sub-group on ‘Pace of Socio-Economic Change’ of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, New Delhi, 2000-2.
- Elected Member, (Since 1986) International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, Liege, Belgium.
- Member of a subgroup on evaluation of the Social Sector performance constituted at the instance of the Planning Commission Government of India for the formulation of the Eleventh Plan. (2000-1).
- Member of a Committee on Food Security setup by the National Security Council, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, New Delhi, 2001-2.
- Member of the NCAER Working Group on INDIA-VISION 2020 set up by the National Security Council, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, New Delhi, 2001-2.
- Member (institutional representation) of a network of Economic Development Management in Asia and the Pacific; the UNDP and Korea Development Institute, Seoul, Korea; 1994 onwards.
- Member, Expert Committee to Assess Current Status of Expenditure on Education and its Proportion to GDP in India, constituted by the Planning Commission, Government of India; June 1998 – June 1999.
- Member, Core Group on Poverty in India and South East Asia constituted by the UNDP, New Delhi, India; since 1996.
- Member of the Standing Committee on a project on Food Security Mapping in India, M.S. Swaminathan Foundation, Chennai, India (1999-2000).
- Member of a subgroup on assessing the status of Minorities in India constituted by the Ministry of Justice and Empowerment, Government of India at the instance of the Planning Commission Government of India for the formulation of the Eleventh Plan (2000-01).
- Member, ‘Social Watch India 2000 and Beyond’ a network preparing a comprehensive review for the UN General Assembly to be held in June 2000.
- National Co-coordinator, Research on Poverty in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal State in India, DFID, British Development Cooperation, New Delhi, India; March 1998 – April 1999.
- Member, Board of Trustees, Indian Association for the Study of Population, 1998-2000, New Delhi, India.
- National Co-coordinator, Economic Studies at the level of States, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, New Delhi, India; Since October 1997 – December 1998.
- Panelist in a group on Food Security and Nutrition, the World Bank, New Delhi; since 1997.
- Panelist in a group on Poverty in India, the World Bank and the UNDP, New Delhi; 1999.
- Member, Committee on Sustainable Human Development constituted by the UNDP, New Delhi, India; during 1994-6.
Member, Committee on follow up of the ICPD goals in India constituted by the UNFPA, New Delhi, India; during 1995-7. - Member, Task Force on Social Security, constituted by the Planning Commission and Ministry of Labour, Government of India; since 1997.
- Member, Technical Standing Committee on Reproductive and Child Health, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; Since February 1998.
- Member, Sub-group Technical Committee on Time use Survey, constituted by the Department of Statistics, Government of India; since 1997.
- Member, Advisory Committee on the Impact of Liberalization on female Employment, constituted by the Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India; during 1996-9.
- Member, Advisory Committee on the Evaluation of the Integrated Child Development Scheme, constituted by the Department of Women and Child Welfare, Ministry of Human Resources, Government of India; since 1996.
- Convener, Sub-Committee on Strategies on Health Care Financing and Insurance for the Ninth Plan, Constituted by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and the Planning Commission, 1996.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Budgetary Analysis
- ‘The Millennium Budget: Social Sector and Poverty Alleviation Allocations’, Margin, 31 (3), April - June, 2000.
- ‘National Expenditures on Poverty Alleviation and Social Sectors: An Evaluation in the light of 1997-98 Budget’, The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 40(1):307-326; 1997.
- ‘State Adjusted Public Expenditures on Social Sector and Poverty Alleviation Programs in the light of Budget 2001’, jointly with Prabir Ghosh and S.K.Mondal, under review by Economic and Political Weekly, presented in an Indo-Russia Economic Cooperation Seminar, Moscow 10-13 October, 2001.
Awards and Honors
- Member-Secretary of the Prime Minister’s High Level Committee to prepare a status report on Muslims in India.
- Award of Excellence presented by the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin, at their 15th annual convention held at Dallas, USA, 17th September, 2005.
- Selected as one of the Faces of the Millennium (Economist) by India Today, the popular weekly magazine, 3 January 2000 issue.
- Member / Adviser, Outstanding Research Awards Committee –’Investment in Health and Mutual Impact’, for the Global Development Network, Dakar, Senegal, January 26, 2005.
Book_State, Market and Inequalities
State, Markets and Inequalities
Human Development in Rural India
Human Development in Rural India
State, Markets and Inequalities films a major gap in the study 
of human development in India by addressing the role of social sector planning in alleviating deprivation. It highlights the extent of deprivation across states and amongst social groups. It also analyses the causes-inadequate allocations, wrong prioritisation, bad targeting, unimaginative design and insensitive delivery. Is there a mismatch between supply and demand? Is there an unexpressed latent demand or is there a problem of choice amongst various suppliers such as public, private and civil society. Is deprivation caused by unique social conditions and the interplay of people's dissatisfaction with public services? Why do people turn to private schools or private health care? What accentuates gender disparity even where services are available to both? How critical is education in ushering in other positive changes? Propels responses are influenced by their ability to access services and exploit opportunities in the contemporary competitive world. Based on a nation-wide representative survey of 33,200 rural households, the survey and the date it generated are used to create an in-depth multi-disciplinary, technical analysis of the causal factors in inter-group differentials and the interactions of market forces and human development in rural India. The book is valuable reference for planners, policy-makers, scholars and persons associated with NGOs working on current issues of human development.
of human development in India by addressing the role of social sector planning in alleviating deprivation. It highlights the extent of deprivation across states and amongst social groups. It also analyses the causes-inadequate allocations, wrong prioritisation, bad targeting, unimaginative design and insensitive delivery. Is there a mismatch between supply and demand? Is there an unexpressed latent demand or is there a problem of choice amongst various suppliers such as public, private and civil society. Is deprivation caused by unique social conditions and the interplay of people's dissatisfaction with public services? Why do people turn to private schools or private health care? What accentuates gender disparity even where services are available to both? How critical is education in ushering in other positive changes? Propels responses are influenced by their ability to access services and exploit opportunities in the contemporary competitive world. Based on a nation-wide representative survey of 33,200 rural households, the survey and the date it generated are used to create an in-depth multi-disciplinary, technical analysis of the causal factors in inter-group differentials and the interactions of market forces and human development in rural India. The book is valuable reference for planners, policy-makers, scholars and persons associated with NGOs working on current issues of human development.Monday, April 23, 2007
Journals / Documents
Publications in Refereed Journals / Documents
- ‘Growth and Equity in India: Does Governance Matter?’ Published in Denouement, January -February 2005.
- ‘Rural Non-farm Employment in India: Access Incomes and Impact on Poverty’, jointly with Peter Lanjouw, Economic and Political Weekly, 39(40): 4429-4446, October 2, 2004.
- ‘Some Thoughts on Nature and Persistent of Poverty in India’, Working Paper, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University, Oxford, (forthcoming); also presented in a seminar on ‘Alternative Concepts of Poverty in India’, jointly organized by NCAER and Oxford University, The UK, 1-2 April, 2002 at India International Centre, New Delhi.
- ‘Participatory Development Process and Poverty Analysis in India: A Review’, jointly with V.S. Saravanan and Poushali Majumdar, Working Paper, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford University, Oxford, (forthcoming); also presented in a seminar on ‘Alternative Concepts of Poverty in India’, jointly organized by NCAER and Oxford University, The UK, held on 1-2 April, 2002 at India International Centre, New Delhi.
- ‘Indian Public Expenditures on Social Sector and Poverty Alleviation Programs during the 1990s’, jointly with Prabir Ghosh and S.K. Mondal, Working Paper 169: September 2002, Oversees Development Institute, London, The UK.
- ‘Emerging Global Markets: Implications for South Asia’, Denouement, June 2002.
- ‘State Adjusted Public Expenditures on Social Sector and Poverty Alleviation Programs’, jointly with Prabir Ghosh and S.K.Mondal, Economic and Political Weekly, 37(8):767-787, February23-March, 2002.
- ‘State of Life of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in India’, jointly with Tarujyoti Buragohain and P. K. Ghosh, Artha Vijnana, Journal of The Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, Vol. XLIII, Nos. 1-2, March-June 2001.
- ‘The Millennium Budget: Social Sector and Poverty Alleviation Allocations’, Margin, 31 (3), April - June, 2000.
- ‘Indian Education Scene and the Public Expenditure Gap’, Economic and Political Weekly, 35(15):1396-1406, April 15, 2000.
- ‘Employment and Wages in India: Pre and Post Reform Scenario’, The Indian Journal of Labour Economic, 42 (2):195 – 216; April - June, 1999.
- ‘Health Care Financing and Insurance: Perspectives for the India's Ninth Plan, 1997-2002’, jointly with Anil Gumber, Ravi Duggal and Moneer Alam, Margin 31(2):38-68 A refereed journal published by the NCAER, January - March, 1999.
- ‘Dynamics of Food Intake and Nutrition according to Expenditure Classes in India since 1973’, jointly with A. C. Malick, Economic and Political Weekly, 34(27):1790-1800, July 3-9, 1999.
- ‘An Integrated View of Development’, Yojana [a journal published by the Government of India] 42(8):95-99.
- ‘National Expenditures on Poverty Alleviation and Social Sectors: An Evaluation in the light of 1997-98 Budget’, The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 40(1):307-326; 1997.
- ‘Contributions of the Informal Rural Sector: Structure and Share of State's Rural Household Sector in the States’ Indian Association of Social Science Institutions Quarterly, 15(3): 89-110, 1997.
- ‘Mother's Education Effect on Child Health: An Econometric Analysis of Child Anthropometry in Uganda’, jointly with Namkee Ahn, The Indian Economic Review, 30(2):203-222, 1995.
- ‘Morbidity and Health Expenditure in India’, Christian Medical Journal of India, 11(1):20-22, January-March 1996.
- ‘Determinants of Child Heights in Uganda: A consideration of the selection bias caused by child mortality’, jointly with Namkee Ahn, Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 16(1);49-59, 1995. [Published from Food and Nutrition Programme for Human and Social Development, The United Nations University, Boston, USA.]
- ‘A Comparative Study of Socioeconomic and Demographic Determinant of Fertility in Togo and Uganda’, Jointly with Namkee Ahn, International Family Planning Perspectives, 20(1): 14-17,22; 1994.
- ‘A Comparative Study of Socioeconomic and Demographic Determinant of Fertility in Togo and Uganda’, Jointly with Namkee Ahn, (French Translated version) International Family Planning Perspectives, 21(4), 1995.
- ‘Socio-Economic and Demographic Differentials between the Hindus and Muslims in India’, Economic and Political Weekly, 30(46):2947-2954, 1995; also published as ‘Some Socio-Economic and Demographic Aspects of Population According to Religion in India’, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism: Bombay, October 1993.
- ‘Role of Focus Group Interviews in Assessing the Primary Health Care and Family Planning Practice in India’, Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) Notes, (17):34-39, London: International Institute for Environment and Development, March 1993.
- ‘Women Workers: Gender Equality and Female Autonomy’, Social Change, 20(2):44-51, Special Issue on Women's Status and Employment, 1990.
- ‘Breastfeeding Practices, Beliefs and Taboos in Karnataka’, jointly with Chaman Farzana, Indian Journal of Social Work, 50(1):141-48, 1990.
- ‘Societal Determinants of the Regional Differentials in India’s Family Planning Programme Performance’, Demography India, 18(1&2):1-20, 1989.
- ‘Woman’s Status and Human Fertility in South India’, Demography India, 17(2), 1988.
- ‘Child Survival: A Village-Level Investigation of Some Cultural Factors Associated with Morbidity and Mortality in South India’, Human Organization, 46 (4):348 – 355, Winter 1987.
Mimeographs/Working Papers
- ‘Food Security for Sustained Poverty Alleviation in the Asia–Pacific Region: The Forgotten Gender Dimension’, (mimeo) a report written at the instance of the FAO and Association of Food Marketing for the Asia–Pacific Region, Bangkok, Thailand.
- ‘Rural Non farm Employment in India: Access, Incomes and Poverty Impact’, Jointly with Peter Lanjouw, Working Paper No. 84, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, India, 2002.
- ‘Determinants of Reproductive Healthcare Utilization in India: Evidence from a recent Micro-household Data’, Jointly with Geeta Singh, Working Paper No. 85, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, India, 2002.
- ‘Economic Reforms and the Poor’, Mimeograph, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, August 1998, a project report reviewing the poverty over the last four decades and its association with the structural adjustment reforms. The focus of this research was on impact of reforms on intermediary mechanisms such as employment, real wages, food supply and food security for the poor.
- ‘Poverty, Deprivation and Levels of Living in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal’, a comprehensive report (three volumes) written at the instance of DFID, British Development Cooperation, New Delhi, August 1998.
- ‘Health Care Financing and Insurance: Perspectives for the Indian Ninth Plan, 1997-2002’, (mimeo), A policy document prepared by a committee of which I was the convener and writer of the report, Submitted to Ministry of Health, Govt. of India, May 1996.
- ‘Programme / Project Sensitivity Analysis of the UNDP Funded Interventions to promote Sustainable Human Development: A Methodology’, (mimeo), A report written at the instance of UNDP: New Delhi, December 1995.
- ‘Health Transition in India’, Working Paper No. 57, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi, India, September, 1995.
- ‘Employees' State Insurance Scheme in Gujarat: Key Results of a Survey’, (mimeo), The Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad, India, March 1994. pp. 117.
- ‘Determinants of Child Health: Search for maternal Education effects in Gujarat’, Working Paper No. 47, Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad, India, June, 1993.
- ‘Family Planning Program In Gujarat: A Qualitative Assessment of Inputs and Impact’, (Mimeo), jointly with Praveen Visaria. The Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad, India, November 1991. pp. 160.
Published Conference Proceedings & Monograph Chapters
- ‘User fees in public health care Institutions’ jointly with Subrata K. Mondal in Prasad, Sujata and C. Sathyamal (edits), Securing Health for All: Dimensions and Challenges, New Delhi: Institute for Human Development, 2006. pp 491 – 505.
- ‘Communal Relations and Social Integration’, in India: Social Development Report, jointly with Azra Razzak, published by Oxford University Press: New Delhi in 2006.
- ‘Some thoughts an nature and persistence of poverty in India’, in Diwakar, D. M and G. P. Mishra (edit), Deprivation and Inclusive Development, published by Manak Publications: New Delhi in 2006, PP 295-335.
- ‘Food and Nutritional Status of the Poor in India: A State Level Analysis’, jointly with Prabir K. Ghosh and Abhilasha Sharma, in M. S Swaminathan and Pedro Medrano (eds.), Towards Hunger Free India: From Vision to Action, Chennai: East West Books (Madras) Pvt. Ltd.
- ‘The Impact of Privatization on Competition: A case Study of India’ jointly with Dr. Kanhaiya Singh in a two day conference organised by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Organisation Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Centre for Cooperation with Non-Members (CCNM), Paris on Privatization and Corporate Governance of State Owned Assets in ICSSR Campus, New Delhi; November 27-28.
- ‘Rural Non farm Employment in India: Access, Incomes and Poverty Impact’, Jointly with Peter Lanjouw, in Abusaleh Shariff and Maithreyi Krishnaraj (eds) State and Markets in Human Development in India, Orient Longman Press (forthcoming).
- ‘Household Food and Nutrition Security in India’, in S. Babu and A. Gulati (eds) Economic Reforms and Food Security in South Asia, Oxford University Press (forthcoming); also presented in a workshop on ‘Welfare, Demography and Development’ organized by Cambridge University, Cambridge, 11-12 September, 2001.
- ‘Determinants of Maternal Health Care Utilization in India: Evidence from a National Survey’, jointly with Geeta Singh, in Abusaleh Shariff and Maithreyi Krishnaraj (eds.) State and Markets in Human Development in India, Orient Longman Press (forthcoming).
‘Indexing Human Development in India: indicators, scaling and composition’, jointly with Amitabh Kundu and Prabir Ghosh, in Abusaleh Shariff and Maithreyi Krishnaraj (eds) State and Markets in Human Development in India, Orient Longman Press (forthcoming). - ‘Human Development Profile of Rural India’, in Raja J. Chelliah and R. Sudarshan (eds) Income Poverty and Beyond: Human Development in India, pp. 53-71, 1999, New Delhi: Social Science Press.
- ‘An Integrated view of Development: Income Distribution, Employment and Social Security during the Structural Reforms’ in UNDP- EDAP Joint Policy Studies Series 9, Social Reform and Development in the Asia Pacific, Seoul: Korea Development Institute, 1999. Earlier presented in a regional conference on Social Implications of the Asian Financial Crisis, organized jointly by the Korea Development Institute, UNDP and Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, July 29-31, 1998, Seoul, Korea.
‘Economic and Human Development in India: Linkages and Issues’, in UNDP – EDAP Joint Policy Studies, Social Reform and Development in the Asia Pacific, Seoul: Korea Development Institute, 1998. - ‘Economic and Policy Reforms and Employment in Manufacturing Sector’, in Concept and Measurement of Labour Flexibility with Special Reverence to Organized Sector in India, Seminar proceedings jointly published by Institute of Applied Manpower Research and Department of Statistics, Government of India, New Delhi, November 1997, pp 39-53.
- ‘Women’s Status and Child Health’, in Krishnaraj, Maithreyi, Ratna M Sudarshan and Abusaleh Shariff (eds), Gender Population and Development, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998: pp 185-219.
- ‘Gender Disparities in Literacy, Schooling and Cost of Education in Rural India’, jointly with Tarujyoti Buragohain and K.K. Tripathy, (Hindi translated version) in a monograph published by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi; presented in a National seminar on `Cost of Education', Organized by National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, 31 December, 1996 - 2 January 1997.
- ‘Education and Health Transition in India’, proceedings of a conference of Structural Adjustment and Gender in India, published jointly by Federic Ebert Foundation and UNDP, pp. 45-117, New Delhi, India, 1996.
- ‘Prospects of Trade in Health’, in Prasad, H.A.C. and Rajendar Kapoor (eds) Trade in Invisibles: An Indian Perspective,: pp. 111-120, New Delhi: Commonwealth publishes, 1996.
- ‘Widowhood in India’, in J.P.Singh (ed), Indian Woman, New Delhi: Gyan Publishers, 1996.
- ‘A comparative Study of Fertility Determinants in Togo and Uganda: A Hazard Model Analysis’, Proceedings of the International Congress of the IUSSP, held at Montreal, Canada, August 1993.
- ‘A few cultural concepts and socio-behavioral aspects of human health in India’, in Caldwell, J Etal (eds) What we know about Health Transition: the cultural, social and behavioral determinants of health, the proceedings of an International Workshop, pp. 788-805, 1990, Canberra: The Australian National University.
Seminars, Workshops and Cofereneces Attended
- Key note address to the Aligarh Muslim University (Alumni) Association, February 5, 2007, Washington DC
- Key note address to the Indian Muslims Association of America, February 3, 2007, Holiday Inn, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Inaugural address ‘The Economics of Artisans, Craftsmen and Traders in India’ in a national seminar organized by Centre for Promotion of Educational and Cultural Advancement of Muslims of India (CEPECAMI), Aligarh Muslim University, UP on February 21, 2005. - Discussant on the background paper on ‘Labor Market Policy in Low-income Countries’ organized by World Bank as a pre- Global Development Network Annual Meeting, Dakar, Senegal, January 23, 2005.
- Key Note Address on ‘Socio-Economic conditions of Muslims in Bihar’ September 23, 2004 Proceeded by the Railway Minister Sri Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihar Chamber of Commerce, Patna.
- Chaired a Session ‘Gender and Patriarchy in India and Bangladesh in Population Association of America 2004 Annual Meeting Program, Boston, Massachusetts, April 1-3, 2004.
- Presided as a discussant during the ‘Technical Session Economic Access to Food – Some Issues’ under the theme ‘New Deal for the Self-Employed: Pathways to Economic Access to Food’ at National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), New Delhi during a National Food Security Summit from 3-5 February 2004 organised by M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation and the United Nations World Food Programme and Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and International Fund for Agricultural Development on February 4, 2004.
- Participated Signing in the ‘Ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding’ between the five partners-NCAER, ICMR and HIS at the Oberoi Hotel, Dr. Zakir Hussain Marg, New Delhi; September 16, 2003.
- Participated in the selection committee meeting in which I was nominated as a member for the post of Professor, Centre of West Asian Studies Faculty of Social Sciences of the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202 002, Uttar Pradesh; September 6, 2003.
- Participated in a book release function Readings in Human Development organised by Oxford University Press India and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the IIC Annexe, New Delhi; August 1, 2003.
- Participated in a consultation meeting to review of Asian Development Bank Poverty Reduction Strategy at Asian Development Bank Office, Chankyapuri; July 24, 2003.
- Participated in a Website review session organised by CII-UNDP India Partnership Forum on CSR and development in India at UNDP; July 23, 2003.
- Participated in the ‘Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics, jointly organized by the World Bank and NCAER, May 21-23, 2003, Taj West End, Bangalore, India.
- Participated in the ‘India Policy Forum’ meeting at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC, May 30, 2002.
- Chaired a session in an international seminar on 'Alternative Realities: Different Concepts of Poverty’ organized by International Development Research Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, The UK, 14th May 2002, held at Save the Children Fund Office, London.
Participated in National Bureau of Economic Research, USA and -NCAER, India Conference on Reforms in India, held at Neemrana fort, Delhi- Jaipur road, December 13-15, 1999. - Participated in a Planning Commission sponsored discussion on ‘Findings of Evaluation Study on Functioning of Community Health Centres (CHCs)’, at Yojana Bhavan, New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India, December 17, 1999.
- Participated in a WTO 2000: South Asia Workshop, World Bank - NCAER Seminar on World Trade Organization, held at La Merridian, New Delhi, December 21, 1999.
- Annual Conference of the Indian Association for the Study of Population, 14-16 February, 2000; PHD Chambers, New Delhi, India.
- Annual Conference of the Indian Association for the Study of Population, April 1999, Kalyani University, West Bengal, India.
The NGO and Academics Consultation on the World Development Report-2000, sponsored by Oxfam-India, India Habitat Centre, February 10, 1999. - INFRANET a seminar on Infrastructure Development in India, organized by Chamber of Indian Industry and held at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi, November 1998.
- India Poverty Consultation Workshop, jointly organized by the World Bank and UNDP, India Habitat Centre, February 5-6, 1999.
- Social Dimensions of Urban Poverty in India, jointly organized by the National Institute of Urban Affairs and the World Bank, India Habitat Centre, March 3-5, 1999.
- Seminar on Development Economics jointly organised by IRIS, University of Maryland and NIPFP, India December 1995.
- Seminar on Institutional Economics jointly organised by IRIS, University of Maryland and NIPFP, India February 1996.
- Second Development Economics Seminar, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi, India, 6-10 January 1996.
- All India Meeting on State Urban Development Strategy, Housing and Urban Development Programs, organized by the Planning Commission and Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, 15-16 July 1994, New Delhi, India.
- Conference on Data Base of Development Analysis, Yale University, USA, May `15-16, 1992, sponsored by the Ford Foundation.
- Population Association of America, annual conference 29 April - 3 May 1992, Denver, USA.
- International Population conference of the IUSSP, 19-27 September 1989, New Delhi, India.
- Workshop on Maternal Education and Child Survival, organized by the Ford foundation and the Gujarat Institute of Development Research, 16-18, January 1989, Ahmedabad, India.
- Workshop on Evaluation of Family Planning Program at the District, sponsored by the International Institute for Population Sciences, 1-9 September, 1988, health at the CFTRI, Mysore, India.
- International Population Conference of the IUSSP, 5-12, June 1985, Florence, Italy.
- XI World Congress of Sociology (ISA), 18-22, August 1986, New Delhi.
- Annual Conference of the Indian Association for the Study of Population, 19-22 December, 1993, Annamali University, Tamil Nadu, India.
- Annual Conference of the Indian Association for the Study of Population, 21-24 May, 1985, Bangalore.
- Annual Conference of the Indian Association for the Study of Population, March 1986, Varanasi.
- Workshop on Consequences of International Migration, sponsored by the committee on the Economic and Social Aspects of International Migration of the IUSSP, 16-19 July 1984, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
- Workshop on Women In Asia, 22-24 July 1983, Monash University Melbourne, Australia.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Social Groups Analysis
Status Report on Social, Economic and Educational Conditions of the Indian Muslims
Just completed directing a major research programme on behalf of the Indian Prime Minister to assess and prepare a status report on Social, Economic and Educational Conditions of the Indian Muslims. The report is based on data analysis of many sources including the NSSO, the Census, data supplied by the state governments, public sector industries, reserve bank of India and the private sector. Qualitative data collected through state visits has an added dimension to the report. The report was formally handed over to the Prime Minister of India on November 17, 2006; and the report is now in print.
Related Publications
Just completed directing a major research programme on behalf of the Indian Prime Minister to assess and prepare a status report on Social, Economic and Educational Conditions of the Indian Muslims. The report is based on data analysis of many sources including the NSSO, the Census, data supplied by the state governments, public sector industries, reserve bank of India and the private sector. Qualitative data collected through state visits has an added dimension to the report. The report was formally handed over to the Prime Minister of India on November 17, 2006; and the report is now in print.
Related Publications
- ‘Communal Relations and Social Integration’, in India: Social Development Report, jointly with Azra Razzak, published by Oxford University Press: New Delhi in 2006.
- ‘Economic Empowerment of Muslims in India’, jointly with Mehtab Azam, published by the Institute of Objective Studies, New Delhi under a series on Empowerment of Muslims in India.
- ‘Socio-Economic and Demographic Differentials between the Hindus and Muslims in India’, Economic and Political Weekly, 30(46):2947-2954, 1995; also published as ‘Some Socio-Economic and Demographic Aspects of Population According to Religion in India’, Centre for Study of Society and Secularism: Bombay, October 1993.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)