LABOUR  AND  DEVELOPMENT

                                                                     

Labour and Development ; Edited by K.R,Kannan, Rajendra. P.Mamgain and Preeti Rustagi ; Pages 722;  Price Rs 1495/-

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The book under review is a Festschrift to Prof. T.S.Papola with 28 contributors who took part in an International Seminar on “ Development from the Perspective of Labour Experiences, Challenges and Opinions “ held in 2014 and organised by the Indian Society of Labour Economics. The initiative was taken by the Giri Institute of Development of which Dr.Papola was the Head for over a decade. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors of that Institute till his demise in 2015.

Prof.Papola landed in Lucknow when he was only 16 and secured a First Class First with a Gold Medal in M.A.Economics from the Lucknow University. He worked for the Indian Society of Labour Economics and brought out their publication-“The Indian Journal of Labour Economics”. His considerable work carry the imprint of a combination of empirical work informed by theoretical concerns. His contribution on wages, rural industrialisation, gender and other discrimination in the labour market broke new grounds for further research.

Appropriately, the volume begins with a tribute to Prof.Papola by Prof. Yogindra Alagh, renowned development economist. Papola had a multi-faceted personality and maintained the highest academic standards and published in the best journals in the world. He advocated policies that focused on equity. The Giri Institute of Development Studies was set up with Papola as the First Director. Rest is History.

 The introduction by the three Editors points out that despite the high economic growth since the 1990s, there has been only a marginal increase in employment and income opportunities. The prevalent policies have achieved only limited success in shifting labour from the less remunerative agricultural sector to the other sectors for for ensuring decent employment. Labour regulations are seen as major stumbling blocks in the creation of employment opportunities for labour. There has also been an unprecedented weakening of labour institutions for protecting the interests of labour. A major concern is ensuring decent employment with dignity of labour while instituting the appropriate institutional mechanisms for a large proportion of Indian labour force.

The book is divided into Seven Sections. The first Section is dedicated to the “ Economic Reforms, Labour and Development” and has four chapters. Rizwanul Islam discusses the measures taken and the impact felt on the labour market as a result of the economic crisis of 2008 which was christened as the  “ Great  Recession”. He covers both developed and developing countries. The labour markets adjusted to the recession through a variety of mechanisms. The lag in the start of the recovery appeared to be shorter than in the case of other crises.

Ajit.K.Ghose traces the trajectory of Indian development as one of growth promotion through the development of capital and intermediate goods industries in the organised sector where the public sector was accorded a higher priority through public investment.

The theme of the  chapter by K.P.Kannan is the potential of India’s micro and small enterprises. India is a very large economy consisting of a substantial number of very small units of production and services. He examines the possibility of transforming the informal sector enterprises by increasing labour productivity. The core problems of the sector are extremely limited access to credit, unreliable supply of electrical power and the structural inability to attract skilled labour.

One chapter analyses India’s “ Demographic Dividend”—the theoretical antecedents and the empirical evidence. This dividend is a one-time opportunity that has to be carefully utilised with appropriate policies to create quality employment for the burgeoning proportion of youth in the society.

The second Section has three chapters which deal with issues of measurement of informal work in the formal and informal sectors and  informality as a problematic category in our understanding of the development of capitalism.

“Wages and Earnings” form the subject of the next section concentrating on the wages of agricultural labourers who are mostly casual workers without any security, employment or social.

The subsequent section is devoted to caste and discrimination in the labour market and analyses the role of social groups defined by a cluster of castes or community in terms of discrimination in the Indian labour market. Strongly commended is the role of the private sector in extending affirmative measures by giving preference to marginalised groups in business and employment.

Other sections deal at length with gender, work employment. Non-farm employment is studied with reference to Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Labour institutions play an important role and they are critically reviewed. We have a succinct analysis of the decline of trade union power. There is a stirring plea for bringing productivity as a factor in industrial relations.

The final section is a tribute to Prof.Papola. Gerry Rodgers' article is a brilliant analysis of the Professor and his significant contribution to the development of labour economists in India. Alakh Sharma and Ravi Srivatsava have contributed a touching and affectionate obituary.

The volume which has a profusion of tables and copious references is a magnificent tribute to an outstanding personality in India’s labour movement.

P.P.Ramachandran

19 / 03 / 2017.