Journal of Indian School of Political Economy

Sharadini Rath

Abstract

This paper sets out the major results of a study conducted to examine revealed links between employment, income and food intake for poor households. The study was conducted in two villages of southern tribal Orissa and one village in south Kerala. Data was collected from a total of 120 households for a full 366 consecutive days, with daily details pertaining to time spent by each member, income and food intake. The study shows that in poor households, food intake and the amount of time spent in productive activities go hand in hand. Those who eat more, are also seen to be working more. Those who eat less, are also seen to be working less. It is hoped that this will provide an important input to the debate on the declining food intake among the poor seen in many States of India.

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Sharadini Rath ¹

Affiliations
1 Indian School of Political Economy, IN

Abstract

There is sufficient evidence to conclude that Dalits are substantially under-represented in the non-farm economy of India. They also face subtle forms of discrimination as job seekers and entrepreneurs. This paper presents the geography of their enterprises by studying the concentrations of Dalit owned non-farm enterprises across major states using Economic Census data for 1998 and 2005. This analysis shows that there are significant shifts taking place in the choices Dalit entrepreneurs are making regarding both the type of enterprise as well as its location. West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh are significant sites of change that show Dalits moving away from traditional occupations and into more contemporary sectors of the economy. The high share of Dalit enterprises in West Bengal, its persistence in Maharashtra and its growth in Tamilnadu over this period make room for very different interpretations of where in India Dalits are most enabled.

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Sharadini Rath ¹

Affiliations
1 Indian School of Political Economy, IN

Abstract

Dynamics of the non-farm economy has been shifting quite dramatically over the period between 1991 and 2005, showing very significant impact on the potential for employment in this whole sector. While urban areas have added large numbers of non-farm (other) workers by 2001, they have not found regular enterprise jobs, since these very areas have lost hiring capacity by 2005. The increase in enterprises in rural areas seems to have been able to absorb the smaller increases in rural other workers. This can be extrapolated to mean that urban areas added mostly casual, not regular, employment in the non-farm sector, and rural workers might have fared better by getting regular jobs in greater proportion.

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