Books

Edited by: Alexandre de Freitas Barbosa & Maria Cristina Cacciamali & Gerry Rodgers
Publisher: Cambridge University Press India
Published: 2017
ISBN: 9781108416191
Inequality is a global concern, for its social and human consequences, and its impact on the pace and pattern of economic growth. In India and Brazil, this issue has received increasing attention in recent years. In Brazil, inequality grew until the 1980s, when it reached extreme levels, but has since been declining, especially during the first decade of the twenty-first century. In India, inequality showed little change up to the 1980s, but has since been rising. These differences result from a variety of economic, social and political factors, which are examined in depth in this comparative study. The book examines inequality in overall distributions of income and expenditure, and disparities across gender, region, caste, race, and access to education. It compares the experience of the two countries, and draws conclusions on the types of policy frameworks and institutions that might lead to a more equitable pattern of growth.

Edited by: Dev Nathan and Akhilesh K. Sharma
Publisher: South Asia Press
Published: 2017
Foreword by: Alakh N. Sharma
South Asia is one of the fast growing regions of the world economy. But because high growth came late, the economies are still either low income or low-middle income. With the exception of Sri Lanka all face serious problems of high levels of informal employment and poor human development. In the matter of gander participation in economic activity too, there is high inequality. This volume explores employment policies, their outcomes, and social protection in five countries – Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

This book will be a useful reference for researchers, policymakers, and social scientists working on employment and social protection in South Asia. 

Edited by: Tanuka Endow, Sumit Mazumdar and Mitu Sengupta
Published: 2015
Published by: Institute for Human Development and Manak Publication Pvt. Ltd.
ISBN: 978-93-7831-380-6 (Hb)
Price: Rs. 1500/
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set for the target year of 2015, have brought human development issues to the global centre-stage. The MDGs, which address issues ranging from poverty and hunger, health, education to environmental sustainability and global partnership, have provided a roadmap to governments towards a better future for the world. With the MDG deadline drawing near, the global conversation is slowly crystallising around a new set of goals, to be termed as ‘Sustainable Development Goals’. However, there has been a lack of effective participation of the countries of Global South in this conversation. Since the MDGs were drawn up in 2000, many Southern countries have emerged as key players on the world stage. Therefore, it is imperative that the Southern voices are heard and have a leading role in setting the agenda for development in the post- 2015 years.

In the light of this international discourse and the urgent need for Southern voices to effectively participate in the global conversation around the post-2015 development agenda, this volume carries the voices of the experts and academicians in order to strengthen the recommendations for a Southern-led, Southern-focused post-2015 development agenda globally. It is hoped that the papers from across the globe, with an introduction, contained in this volume will help in building a momentum around shaping the agenda by engaging a diverse set of stake-holders.

This publication has been funded by Government of UK, Department for International Development under the Knowledge Partnership Programme (KPP), implemented by IPE Global Pvt. Ltd. However, the views expressed are of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the UK Government’s official policies.

Edited by: Dev Nathan, Meenu Tewari and Sandip Sarkar
Published: 2016
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781107103740/HB
Price: Rs. 1295; USD 150; UKP 94.99

This book brings together a set of studies on labour conditions in GVCs in a variety of sectors—ranging from labour-intensive sectors like garments, fresh fruits, tourism, to medium- and high-technology sectors like automobiles, electronics and telecom, and knowledge intensive sectors (IT software services). The studies span a number of countries across Asia—Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Participation as suppliers in GVCs has provided many benefits to Asia—increased employment in higher value activities or those with increasing returns, such as manufacturing and services, reduction in poverty, and the heightened participation of women in these modern sectors. However, this book also points to the continued weaknesses in these developments and the underside of participation in GVCs—such as the continuation of sweatshop conditions in several sectors, the persistence of child labour in many parts of GVC manufacture; the appearance of new forms of Taylorism in Call Centres; the high incidence of precarious employment in low-knowledge tasks, and so on. The book documents the uneven distribution of benefits along the value chain, the uneven patterns of the knowledge flows associated with out-sourcing and the contested nature of the impact of lead-firm business practices on wages and employment and work conditions in supplier countries, alongside the benefits of upgrading and job enlargement that has accompanied these same processes. In trying to identify spaces for progressive action and policies in the current GVC-linked global work environment, the book goes against the grain in searching for an alternative to laissez faire forms of globalization.
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Edited by: Gerry Rodgers and Vidhya Soundararajan
Published: 2016
Publisher: Academic Foundation and IHD
ISBN: 97893327035
Price: Rs. 895; 136 Pages
This book is a systematic analysis of inequality in India and how it has been changing since the 1980s. It is focused on the labour market, and in particular on wage inequality, and also examines inequality in household expenditure. The book looks into the structure and segmentation of the labour market, both in terms of the nature of employment (casual and regular work) and in terms of some of the key divides: gender, caste and community, region and education. All of these factors are examined using National Sample Survey data, exploring the role of each in the overall pattern of inequality, and how their significance has been changing over time. A multivariate analysis brings these different factors together and assesses their relative importance. The monograph also considers the relationships between different aspects of inequality, comparing inequality of wages, income and expenditure, and discusses the changing share of labour income in value added. A final section examines the role played by occupational patterns and changes in the overall structure of labour market inequality. View PPT

Edited by: A.K. Shiva kumar, Preet Rustagi, Ramya Subrahmanian
Publisher: Oxford University Press and Institute for Human
Published: 2015  Development in collaboration with unicef
ISBN: 13: 978-0-19-945528-7; 10: 0-19-945528-7
Price: Rs. 1195; Hb; xlix+467 pages
Children are individuals born with indivisible and inalienable human rights. They belong to families and communities that need to have access to appropriate resources, services, and capacities required to ensure realization of these rights. The rights of parents and caregivers are therefore closely intertwined with the rights of children.

Childhood is a period of tremendous biological, psychological, and social development. Enabling all children to realize their full creative potential is critical for sustaining India’s economic growth and accelerating human development. However India’s social policies are yet to deliver on the promise of quality education, health, nutrition, and protection for all. Future social policies therefore need to be built on evidence-based platforms that pay particular attention to children’s experiences of poverty and vulnerability, which are multidimensional and distinct from those of adults.

Bringing together a multidisciplinary se of essays, this volume advocates child-centred social policies that focus on the specific requirements of both children as well as those of the families, communities and societies in which they live.

Edited by: Darshini Mahadevia and Sandip Sarkar
Published: 2012
Publisher: Oxford University Press and Institute for Human Development Co-publisher: IDRC, Canada and ICSSR, New Delhi
ISBN: 13: 978-0-19-808171-5; 10: 0-19-808171-5
Price: Rs. 850; Hb; XVI+229 pages
Urbanising India has posed many challenges in terms of employment, poverty and quality of access to urban services. Most policy and research in these areas has focused on metropolitan cities, thereby creating a paucity of studies on the characteristics and dynamics of small and medium towns. This handbook is the first study on the inequalities between metros and non-metros with regard to poverty, employment, education levels and services over the last 25 years. Reprocessing NSS household-level data, including latest data from the 66th Round, the authors provide a disaggregated analysis for different classes of urban centres. The book focuses on (a) the importance of small and medium towns in urban development and (b) patterns of urban inequalities over time and policy implications of these. Comparing the pre-and post reform periods, the book presents disaggregated trends across major states in India of: urban poverty and per capita consumption expenditure; employment patterns and unemployment levels by gender; and level of basic facilities such as water supply, sanitation, and garbage collection.

by Dev Nathan, Ganesh Thapa, Govind Kelkar, Antonella Cordone
Publisher: Oxford University Press and Institute for Human Development Co-publisher: IDRC, Canada and ICSSR, New Delhi
ISBN: 0-19-807895-1
Published: 2012
Price: Rs. 645; Hb; XVI+229 pages
Indigenous peoples, also referred to as Scheduled Tribes, adivasis, hill tribes, minority nationalists, or ethnic minorities, predominantly inhabit the uplands and hill-forest regions of different nations in Asia. They are distinguished from the others in terms of their mode of production: subsistence production versus accumulation and income increasing production. Markets and Indigenous Peoples in Asia analyses market-based and alternative development for indigenous peoples. The authors suggest that the benefits of increased connectivity and market-facilitating interventions correspond to an increase in production and improvement in the well being of these peoples. They further explore the scope for preserving indigenous identities combined with attempts at economic development. The study is based on intensive, multi-sited fieldwork in six Asian developing countries-India, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam-and data collected from International Fund for Agricultural Development projects on indigenous peoples. Scholars and students of sociology and anthropology, tribal studies, and development studies will find the detailed research and analysis in this book useful. It will also interest civil society representatives and development planners.

Edited by: Gerry Rodgers
Published: 2013
Publisher: Academic Foundation and Institute for Human Development Co-publisher: IDRC, Canada and ICSSR, New Delhi
ISBN: 978-81-7831-319-6
Price: Rs. 895; Hb; 176 pages
One of the central dilemmas of development is how to ensure that growth is both rapid and equitable. Employment is the key, but the employment performance of most economies leaves a great deal to be desired. The bulk of the population in low- and medium-income countries to scrabble for casual work, in informal labour markets, at poverty-level incomes. Dealing with such vulnerabilities calls for effective systems of social protection. But in the developing world, only a minority, and usually a small minority of the population, is protected by formal social security mechanisms.
Good economic performance in the last decade in large emerging economies of Brazil, India, China and South Africa gives hope that solutions might be found. Each of these countries has tried to tackle these issues, applying different policies and encountering differing degrees of success. This book documents and highlights four challenges faced in all four countries: converting growth into employment; building good labour institutions; finding the right balance between social protection and job creation; and dealing with inequality.

Edited by: Dipak Mazumdar and Sandip Sarkar
Published: 2013
Publisher: Routledge and IDRC, Canada
ISBN: 978-0-415-62333-9
Price: Rs. 850; pbk; XV+341 pages
Issues relating to the size of firms in manufacturing are central to the discussion of development stratigies. This book offers an interpretation of growth trajectories in selected Asian economies in terms of the size stuture of enterprises in the manufacturing sector of these economies.
The book presents a comparative survey of the distribution of enterprises by size across Asia, including Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. It identifies three distinct patterns of manufacturing sector development and makes the connection between enterprise development and the overall impact on the economy. The book goes on to investigate the problem of the peculiar dual size structure of manufacturing in India, with its two modes at the low and high end of the size distribution and conspicuous ?missing middle?, and the effect that this has on the economy. It is an contribution to studies on Asian Economics and Manufacturing Industries.
Free ebook: The papers compiled in a book has been published by Routledge, London and IDRC, Canada
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Edited by: Gerry Rodgers, Amrita Datta, Janine Rodgers, Sunil K. Mishra, Alakh N. Sharma
Published: 2012
Publisher: IHD & Manak Publications Pvt. Ltd.
ISBN: 978-81-7831-319-6
Price: Rs. 795; 273 pages
The Institute for Human Development has been carrying out a research programme on? Inclusive Development in Bihar? since 2009. This book is one of the publications of this research programme. Written by a team of researchers with many years of experience in the state, it maps out the transformation of the agrarian system and the dynamics of the labour market. It explores the pattern and implications of high migration. It shows what has happened to living standards, poverty and social exclusion, and the impact of improved governance and innovative policies. And it suggests priorities for both research and policy if Bihar is to consolidate recent gains and embark on a sustainable path of inclusive growth. The book is largely based on a series of surveys that have been carried out over the last thirty years in the villages of the state. These surveys make it possible to analyse change in greater detail and with more confidence than in studies based on secondary sources. The book provides details of these surveys, which constitute an important resource and reference for future work in Bihar.

Edited by: Dev Nathan and Virginius Xaxa
Published: 2012
Publisher: IHD & Oxford University Press
ISBN-13: 978-019-807893-7
ISBN-10: 0-19-807893-5
Price: Rs. 750; Hb, 335 pages
Development is seldom a linear, all-inclusive process. In order to understand the socio-economic and political? exclusion? of the adivasi communities in contemporary India, a multi-dimensional analytical framework encompassing deprivation and? adverse inclusive? can be extremely valuable.
This volume, putting together case studies from six states in India, locates the deprivation of adivasis in a larger regional, national and global context. It examines issues of child mortality, poverty, gender, class, linguistic denial and livelihood among the adivasis. In order to advance towards inclusive development, it emphasizes not just their rights to access services, but also their rights to their productive resources, land and forests, as well as an active involvement in political governance.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars of development studies, economics, sociology and anthropology, especially to those working on adivasis in India. Administrators, policymakers and international aid and donor agencies will also find it useful.

Edited by: Parmod Kumar and Sandip Sarkar
Published: 2012
Publisher: Academic Foundation and Institute for Human Development
ISBN: 978-81-7188-937-2
Price: Rs. 995; Hb; 268 pages
This book looks at the impact of recent agriculture-related policy changes on the emerging production, marketing and earning status of small versus large farmers based on primary and secondary data. Comparing two contrasting states of Punjab and Bihar, the study finds that whereas Punjab farming set the course of commercialization way back in the early seventies and the state has bright prospect for new phase of corporatisation leading to ascendancy of processing and value addition, Bihar agriculture is still caught in the web of subsistence farming.
Majority of holdings being marginal and small in the state, the mechanisation and commercialization of agriculture is still at a rudimentary stage and farmers have to depend on non-farm activities to make their daily earnings. Farm income was the chief source of household income in Punjab with 76 per cent share, whereas contribution of farm income in total household income was only 36 per cent in Bihar. Farmers? opinion about the globalisation process revealed that only the large and medium farmers, it has become difficult to seek-out their livelihood. For setting course for the future, understanding is necessary. Different status of globalization is necessary. Different policy actions in different states are de rigueur to bring the farmers out of their dilemmas especially the small and marginal at the ebb of deprivation.

Subedited by K.R. Shyam Sundar
Publisher: Institute for Human Development Indian Society of Labour Economics and Daanish Books.
ISBN- 978-93-81144-13-8(Hb)
Price: Rs.375; Hb; 164 pages; Published: 2012
After the economic reforms, employers in India, foreign investors, global financial agencies and the global rating agencies have been clamouring for reforming the governance of the labour markets and the industrial relations system. They argue that the laws and regulations introduce ?rigidities? in the labour market and disenable the employers from responding quickly and suitably to the dynamic competitive economic system in the globalized economic environment. Two issues have been hotly debated, viz.,the legal restrictions on retrenching workers and closure of firms and the contract labour employment system.
The contract labour system, i.e., employing workers through contractors is an important component of numerical flexibility and the incidence of contract labour has risen significantly, especially during the post-reform period. Trade unions consider the contract labour system to be ?exploitative?, they demand regularization of the services of the contract workers, equal pay for equal work and better conditions of employment among others.
Both the social actors have held on to their positions in a rigid manner. It is in context that Indian Society of Labour Economics organized a panel discussion on the issues related to the contract labour system in its 52nd Annual Conference. The panelists comprised trade union leaders, senior human resource managers, labour administrators, legal specialists, academics and consultants. Their papers from contents of this monograph. The papers provide diverse perspectives-legal, ideological, historic, economic, administrative etc.? and examine the origin and the working of the contract labour system, and make suggestions arising out of these analyses, which could prove to be valuable inputs for both understanding the issues concerning the contract labour system and policy-making.

Edited by: Ashoka Chandra, Horst Mund, Tripurari Sharan and C.P. Thakur
Publishing : BR
SBN: 81-7018-975-6 1998 p545 Rs. 575 / US$ 28.75
This volume is an outcome in response to the need for regional tripartite interactions on labour and social issues where academics and non-governmental organisational also are enabled to provide inputs and facilitate the much needed social linkages for economic growth and human progress in South Asia. Written by labour economists, industrial relations experts and labour and social activists, the volume is important in putting together some scholarly papers with national and regional perspectives on issues of labour market and employment; industrial relations; and poverty and human development in South Asia in the wider context of the ongoing changes in the global economy. With a concern throughout to offer concrete suggestions for policy and action, the book is comprehensive enough as also specific to be key reference for all concerned with labour market and human development issues in the context of economic restructuring.

Edited By: R. Radhakrishana and Alakh N. Sharma IHD
ISBN: 81-900948-0-7 1998 p440 Hardback Rs. 450
Even though there are signs of improvement in the levels of living and earnings during the 1980s, the rural labour, which is the most vulnerable among various groups of workers, has been largely bypassed by the process of socio-economic development in India over the last five decades. The processes of structural adjustment programme underway in the economy have a direct as well as indirect bearing on the rural labour. In the emerging scenario it is necessary to examine afresh the recent trends and policies which have implications for the empowerment of rural labour.
This volume, containing twenty one articles from experts and activists, provides an indepth insight into the recent developments and processes at work in the rural labour markets in India and evaluates how far the attempts towards their empowerment have been successful. In this context, this volume examines in detail, both at micro and macro levels, the role of operations of the market forces, state interventions and mobilisation by trade unions, political parties and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).
The volume will be useful for academicians, policy makers, social activists and all those interested in the studv of rural poor in general and rural labour in particular.

The study presents a comprehensive report on the various processes involved in the development of India Water Vision 2025, and is based on a number of national and zonal level discussions and meetings. The participants in these discussions represented various stakeholders including ministers, senior government officials, academicians, media persons and representatives of NGOs and the private sector. While a vision was not to be constrained by present-day realities, it was considered important to quantify the implications of the Sustainable World Scenario in terms of food security, livelihood security, health security, ecological security and water resources development.

Edited by: S. Mahendra Dev, Piush Antony, V. Gayathri and R.P. Mamgain IHD
ISBN: 81-900948-4-X 2001 p523 Hardback Rs. 750
Social security measures in India have gained much attention in the wake of increasing informalisation of the economy consequent upon the introduction of economic reforms in the early 1990s. It is widely feared that this will result in a rise in deprivation and poverty as the workers in the unorganised sector lack even minimal security mechanisms necessary for social and economic well-being.
While the debate on growth-mediated or support-led strategies remains unsettled, this volume presents an exhaustive analysis of various aspects of social and economic security in India—policies, financial allocation, implementation, reach and coverage of programmes, especially with regard to the vulnerable sections and state-level initiatives. They highlight the need for a more comprehensive and sensitive policy framework that caters to the emerging changes and trends in the economy. Though growth is a necessary condition for the efficient working of such a security mechanism, various state and micro-level experiences clearly establish the catalytic role of social and economic security in the process of overall development.
As against the conventional concept of social security, which is essentially relevant in the context of the organised sector in developed countries, this volume underscores the need for a broader interpretation of social security in a developing country like India characterised by a high degree of deprivation and vulnerability of a large section of the population. The twenty-two articles in the volume covering a wide range of issues and experiences relating to the social and economic security system aim to invoke a renewed interest among researchers and policy-makers as well as social activists and voluntary workers in reviewing the existing system with a view to develop an alternative framework that ensures security for all.

Edited by: Amitabh Kundu and Alakh N. Sharma IHD
ISBN: 81-900948-5-8 2001 p440 Hardback Rs. 650
Recent decades have witnessed a rapid increase in employment in informal sector, particulary in the developing world. India, too, has experienced this phenomenon, with this sector accounting for over 90 per cent of all employment. The process has further been accelerated with the initiation of the programmes of liberalisation and globalisation since the early 1990s. The emergence of the informal sector has often been viewed as providing a solution to the growing problem of unemployment by ensuring sustainability of livelihood for large sections of the population, particularly the poor. Indeed, a significant part of the incremental employment generated in the nineties is in informal activities, both within manufacturing and tertiary sectors. And yet, it remains one of the less researched areas in the context of formulating a development policy.
The present volume makes a comprehensive effort to analyse the present trend, understand the dynamics of development and assess its implications for the workforce and the people. It overviews the conceptual and methodological issues relating to the identification of informal sector and informal workers and analyses the trends and structure of growth in recent years using both secondary and primary data. It examines the issues pertaining to wages/earnings, productivity, macro-micro linkages, etc., and attempts to determine its prospects of growth, providing meaningful employment to a large section of the workforce in future years, Aspects of discrimination in the labour market have also been covered, particularly by bringing in the gender dimension. The efficiency and welfare implications of the increasing absorption of labour force in this sector have been examined by focussing on the support system and issues relating to social protection.
The volume, in general, attempts to identify areas and avenues that can be pursued to find solutions to the problems confronting this sector and thus help in developing a policy perspective for its healthy growth.

Edited by: Nira Ramachandran and L. Massun.
IHD ISBN 81-900948-6-6 p Hardback Royal Vo Rs. 750/-
The book is the outcome of the IHD-WFP Workshop on ‘Food Insecurity and Child Work’ held in Delhi in March 2001. Poverty, seasonal food distress and vulnerability to hunger due to recurrent natural calamities alter the lifestyles and coping mechanisms of affected families with adverse consequences on the freedom and the education of their children. However, the availability of timely support in the form of food can become the turning point of the decision to enrol the child in school as against work, to ensure regular attendance of the already enrolled children and to eventually break the vulnerable household-child labour syndrome.
Part I explores this theme across space, in terms of seasonality and time-use and through the gender lens. Four papers deal with different aspects.
Part II seeks to explore the determinants of child work with a view to establishing links between child work, schooling and food insecurity. This section contains four papers.
Regional disparities across the country remain sharp. As such, no single policy measure is likely to suffice throughout the country. Part III contains a set of six papers covering six child labour-prone states of the country.
Linking nutritional and educational poverty with the persistence of child work leads naturally to the question of the means to offset the impact of these determinants. Part IV is a collection of six papers dealing with this theme.
The last chapter seeks to answer the questions raised in the introduction based on a review of the preceding chapters, while also incorporating the highlights of the discussions at the workshop.

Edited by: S. Mahendra Dev, K.P. Kannan and Nira Ramachandran
ISBN 81-900948-7-4 2003 Hardback Royal 4vo 464 p. Rs. 750 / US$40
The volume, containing the contributions of a good number of scholars, discusses food security in India in a broad framework which go beyond supply and demand. It is not only a comprehensive publication, but also one which addresses critical issues and emerging concerns on food security such as the demand for and supply of foodgrains in future; policy response to domestic reforms and globalisation; regional scenario and micro-level experiences; and ongoing perspectives such as the working of the PDS, nutrition and right to food. The book will be extremely useful for all those concerned with analysis of and the formulation of policy for food security.

Contents and Contributors
Introduction: S. Mahendra Dev, K.P.Kannan and Nira Ramachandran.
Part I: Estimates of Demand for and Supply of Foodgrains in India : Praduman Kumar and Surabhi Mittal; P.C. Bansil; CM. Hanumantha Rao.
PART II : Response to Macro Policy and Globalisation : Vijay S. Vyas; Yoginder K. Alagh; S. MahendraDev.
PART III: Regional Scenario : Amaresh Dubey and Orester Kharpuri; S. Indrakant andS. Harikishan; K. P. Kannan; Vidya Sagar; Jos Mooij; Nisha Srivastava.
PART IV : Grass Roots Experiences : VM. Rao and R.S. Deshpande; Amitava Mukherjee; NiraRamachandran; K. Sarap andM. Mahamallik.
PART V : Emerging Perspectives : Shikha Jha and P. K Srinivasan; Madhura Swaminathan; M.H. Strryanarayana; Jean Dreze.

Edited by: L.K. Deshpande, Alakh N. Sharma, Sandip Sarkar and
Anup K. Karan IHD
ISBN: 81-88315-03-6 2004 p160 Hardback Rs. 290 / US$ 20
Significant changes have taken place in the Indian labour market after the initiation of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation policies in 1991. In this context, it becomes important to examine the controversial issue of labour flexibility vis-a-vis economic liberalisation.
While in India there have been some attempts to study labour flexibility at the macro level, very few have been made at the micro or enterprise level. And even if there have been, the scope of the studies has not been extended to the wider national labour market in order to understand how liberalisation policies have impacted on the labour market and labour relations. This book overcomes this limitation as it is based on a comprehensive labour flexibility survey of more than 1300 firms scattered across ten states and nine important manufacturing industries, undertaken in 1999. The book examines the trends in the Inclian labour market in recent years; changes in employment and the factors governing them; the extent of employment and wage flexibilities; as also the impact of trade unions on wages and industrial relations.
The book will be useful for all those interested not only in evaluating the impact of economic liberalisation and globalisation on the quantity and quality of employment and industrial relations system but also in evolving optimal labour policies in the Indian context.

ISBN: 81-7304-519-4 Hardback p184 Rs. 500
This book is perhaps the first attempt to study the menacing problem of lockouts in India which has plagued industries in the last three decades Besides giving an overview of lockouts from 1961 to 1997. the author has made a special study of lockouts m West Bengal—the stale with maximum number of man days lost due to lockouts m India. He suggests that the causes for lockouts put forward by the Indian government n the Labour Year Book as well as Labour in West Bengal (a publication of the West Bengal government) are not tenable since the data is based on the employer’s perception only. The major causes of lockouts, he suggests are: downsizing of labour and casualisation, increasing workload of workers, absence of a long-term perspective by employers, failure to bring about technological upgradation, pre-occupation with short-term profits, inefficient management, inter-family disputes, indiscipline and violence to some extent and cost reduction during periods of low demand.
While employers have succeeded subduing labour by using lockouts, the state has failed to find a durable solution to the underlying problems so that lockouts can be avoided altogether. The study concludes that while the state has tacitly submitted to the employers to earn higher profits by a system of exploitative efficiency, it has failed to provide economic justice to labour.

Edited by: Alakh N. Sharma, Rajeev Sharma and Nikhil Raj IHD
ISBN: 81-88315-04-4 2004 p167 Hardback Rs. 280 / US$ 20
In recent years there has been widespread reports in the media, both inside and outside the country, about the exploitation of child labour, including bonded labour in India’s carpet industry. In the wake of the criticisms, several measures have been initiated to tackle the problem of child labour in carpet production. Social labelling was one such initiative introduced in the nineties. It aims at improving the living and working conditions of the weaving community by exerting pressure on the exporters/suppliers to enforce fair conditions including prohibiting child labour in the production of carpets. This is considered to be an important intervention at the economic level, linking trade with the prohibition of child labour.
This book examines the impact of these labelling initiatives on child labour. It is based on a study commissioned by the International Labour Organisation aimed at providing an input to a global ILO-IPEC study on the impact of social labelling on child labour. Besides interviews with a cross-section of people/organisations connected with the carpet trade, it has also surveyed 35 villages spread over nine districts in four states of India. Looms in the sample villages were also covered through a structured loom survey. The different welfare and rehabilitation measures initiated under the labelling programme are also examined.
This extensive study reveals some interesting findings, including changes in the structure and pattern of child labour working in the carpet industry, which on various counts are contrary to the general perception and media reports. The book will be useful for all those involved with the issue of child labour, particularly government functionaries, social activists, development practitioners, international organisations and many others.

Edited by: G.K. Lieten IHD
ISBN: 81-88315-08-7 Hardback p200 Rs. 350 / US$ 25 / Euro 20
Pro-active policies against child labour and child neglect in general have been pursued with more public attention than ever before. Governments, NGOs and international organisations such as the ILO and UNICEF and the World Bank have well-funded departments. Policies, however, stand to benefit from detailed and unbiased research. This book fills such a gap. It provides insights at various levels: macro-policies, analytical treatment of some issues such as the magnitude of the problem, the fashionable approach of child participation, and globalisation. But the book mainly draws meticulous pictures of how the deprived children live, what it means to work for a living or to live in the streets. Case studies deal with Vietnam, India, Guinea, Bolivia and Brazil.
The papers are a good mix of social anthropology, political science and law. The expertise of the contributors and their concern for the living world as also the concerns and expectations of the children impart to this book the significance as an invaluable source of reference on the issue of child labour and child neglect.

Edited by: Rohini Nayyar and Alakhn. Sharma
ISBN 81-88315-11-7 2005 Hardback Royal 4Vo p536 Rs. 950/ US$ 60
The role of rural non-farm sector (RNFS) is crucial both in generating productive employment and alleviating poverty in rural areas because of the limited absorptive capacity of the urban sector and near saturation of the agricultural sector in further absorption of workers. Policy makers are increasingly recognising the importance of RNFS in providing sustainable livelihoods to a large number of people in rural areas. However, in spite of a lot of research that has been carried out, our understanding of the RNFS, particularly its role in the broader development process, is relatively poor and does not provide adequate insights to policy makers grappling with the enormous diversity of the sector.
This volume, containing twenty nine papers, apart from the introductory and concluding ones, analyses the various aspects and issues relating to the RNFS so as to acquire a better understanding of the processes and dynamics of the sector. The various papers look at in depth aspects such as international experience with regard to RNFS and its lessons for India; patterns and dynamics of growth including linkage with urban areas; state and micro-level experiences; change and dynamics of some important sub-sectors; impact on women and other disadvantaged groups; and working of various policies, programmes and institutions for the growth of RNFS.
This comprehensive volume will be extremely useful for further consultations on policy and research activities.

Editors: Rohlnl Nayyar, Advisor (Rural Development). Planning Commission, Government ot India
Alakh N. Sharma, Director, Institute tor Human Development. New Delhi and Editor. Indian Journal of Labour Economics.

Edited by: VM Rao Daanish Books
ISBN: 81-902946-8-7 p328 Hardback Rs. 595
This book brings out the constraints in the anti-poverty policies in India that result from the elite-driven feature of its democracy. Using a three-phase conceptual framework, the author argues that India has still not moved beyond modest achievements in alleviating hardcore poverty. In the first Part the book discusses how Human Development Indices remain very low and empowerment of the poor has not been institutionalised even at the lowest level of village Panchayats. In the second Part the author discusses the important, but relatively neglected, theme of poverty generating processes with special focus on the marginahsation process in agriculture and policy weaknesses in creating livelihoods for the poor. In the last Part the author pleads for policy-making that is based on a ‘systemic view’ of poverty rather than the prevailing ‘statistical view’ for dealing with the emerging phase in poverty reduction.

Edited by: G.K. Lieten, Anup K. Karan and Anoop K. Satpathy
ISBN 81-88315-12-5 Hardback Demy 8vo 176 pages Rs. 295 / US $20
Of late, issues concerning various aspects of the lives of children have come to grab the focus of attention. And rightly so given that more than a third of the population constitute children who, after all, are the future of the country. Doubtless, there is no dearth of policies that have been formulated, seminars and discussions that have taken place, funds that have been made available and NGOs that are functioning actively in this sphere. But how much do we really know about the daily lives of children, particularly the poor who live in remote villages and in the slums of cities?
Based on extensive surveys in the rural and urban areas of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and Rajasthan and informed by a body of anthropological accounts relating to the life world of approximately 45 children, the book provides a background of and insights into their daily lives and presents their perceptions and interpretations regarding the same. At the very least, these children can be characterised as being active and applying agency in various modes. Childhood, to them, implies simultaneity : studying, participating in household chores, learning new skills, labouring hard, playing and chatting all in a day.
The observations have sprung up unanticipated conclusion. These give rise to important implications for child-centric policies and for the adoption of a duties-based approach. The book would serve as useful literature for analysis, policy and action.
Authors
G.K. Lieten holds the Child Labour Chair at the University of Amsterdam and the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam. He is also the Director of the IREWOC Foundation and a Visiting Professor at the Institute for Human Development. Artup K. Karan is currently a Fellow at the Institute for Human Development.
Artoop K. Satpathy is an Associate Fellow at the V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, Noida, India.

Edited by: Sujata Prasad and C. Satyamala
IHD ISBN: 81-88315-17-6 Hardback p524 Price: Rs. 950/ US$ 60 2006
Although health infrastructure has grown impressively in India after independence, there is widespread malnutrition and prevalence of ill health in the country. While households incur bulk of the health expenditure, government expenditure is limited to only about one-fourth of the total expenditure. India is among those few countries, which spend the least on health. No wonder, expenditure on health care has emerged in recent years as the second most important source of rural indebtedness in the country.
The process of liberalisation and concomitant policy reforms initiated during the nineties have added a new dimension to the efforts at bringing health care to the vast populace, particularly the vulnerable groups. The liberalisation of health sector and emphasis on insurance, increasing pace of privatisation of health services, increase in drug prices, etc. are new challenges that have emerged in recent years. In this context, health security, calling for adequate, prompt, timely and equitable access to health care facilities, becomes a major challenge in a poor country like India.
In addition to an introduction and overview, this volume contains 23 papers that discuss comprehensively the issues of health security in the country. Apart from providing a broad overview of the current health scenario in terms of outreach and coverage of health services at national and state levels, the papers in the volume address some of the critical policy issues, confronting the nation such as health security for the vulnerable groups, health financing, health insurance, health governance, and so on.
The papers in the volume contribute significantly to the ongoing discourse on health security putting the people centre-stage. Accordingly, it will be useful not only for analysis but also for policy building and advocacy.

Editors: Sujata Prasad is a civil servant who has worked extensively on issues of women’s development and health sector.
C. Sathyamala, an epidemiologist trained at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Human Development, New Delhi.

Edited by: Dipak Mazumdar and Dr. Sandip Sarkar Routledge, London / New Delhi [2008, pages 377]
ISBN10: 978-0-415-43611, Price: Rs. 695, Paperback also in Hardback
India started on a program of reforms, both in its external and internal aspects, sometime in the mid-eighties and going on into the nineties. While the increased exposure to world markets (“globalization’) and relaxation of domestic controls has undoubtedly given a spurt to the GDP growth rate, its impact on poverty, inequality and employment have been controversial. This book examines in detail these aspects of post-reform India and discerns the changes and trends which these new developments have created. Providing an original analysis of unit-level data available from the quinquennial National Sample Surveys, the Annual Surveys of Industries and other basic data sources, the authors analyze and compare the results with other pieces of work in the literature. As well as describing the overall situation for India, the book highlights regional differences, and looks at the major industrial sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and tertiary services. The important topic of labor market institutions – both for the. formal or organized and the unorganized sectors – is considered and the possible adverse etect on employment growth of the regulatory, labor ‘framework iN examined carefully. Since any reform of ;this framework must go hand in hand with better state intervention in the informal sector to have any chance of acceptance politically,, some of the major initiatives in this area are critically explored. Overall, this book will be of great interest to development economists, labor economists and specialists in South Asian Studies.

Contents
Introduction: an overview of globalization, reforms and macro-economic developments in India; PART I – Trends in poverty, inequality, employment and earnings; Poverty, growth and inequality in the pre- and post-reform periods and the patterns of urbanization in India; an analysis for all-India and the major states; Trends in employment and earnings 1983-2000; Accounting for the decline in labor supply in the 1990s. PART II – Regional dimensions: Some implications of regional differences in labor-market outcomes in India – AHMAD AHSAN AND CARMEN PAGES; Trends in the regional disparities in poverty incidence: an analysis based on NSS regions. PART III – Employment and earnings in the major sectors; Agricultural productivity, off-farm employment and rural poverty: the problem of labor absorption in agriculture; Employment elasticity in organized manufacturing in India; Dualism in Indian manufacturing: causes and consequences; Growth of employment and earnings in the tertiary sector. PART IV – Labor-market institutions: Legislation, enforcement and adjudication in Indian labor markets: origins, consequences and the way forward -AHMAD AHSAN, CARMEN PAGES AND TIRTHANKAR ROY; Strengthening employment and social security for unorganized-sector workers in India -PHILIPO’KEEFE AND ROBERT PAL AC I O S; Epilogue; Conclusions

Edited by: Dev Nathan, D. Narasimha Reddy and Govind Kelkar Routledge India
ISBN: 978-0-415-47986-8 Hardback 2008 Pages: 288 £ 50
This study challenges the dominant tendency of civil society to negate international trade as such. The authors argue that it is necessary to frame differentiated trade rules based on levels of economic development, and also to shift from subsidies to shore up uncompetitive livelihoods to productivity-enhancing investments. Most importantly, the book ends with a case for trade unions, women’s organizations and other civil society organizations to imagine and create themselves as being global — in order to take up the challenge of strengthening global countervailing power to capital.

Content:
1. Introduction 2. Trade and Welfare 3. Trade Rules 4. Competitive Advantage, National Policy and Global Value Chains 5. Work and Decent Work 6. Women, Trade and Livelihoods 7. Agriculture 8. Commodity Prices 9. Indigenous Peoples and International Trade 10. Trade and the Environment 11. Addressing Crises and Change Conclusion Bibliography Index.

Edited by: Ed. Ashwani Saith,
M Vijayabasker and V Gayatri
This book is based on papers presented during an international conference on ICTs, organised by the Institute in association with The Institute of Social Studies, The Hague. The book is the first of its kind in that it compiles the optimistic voices of techno-idealists, critical social science perspectives on technology and a range of empirical material on the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on the lives of people. The book traces these processes across urban and rural spaces of work, consumption, and e-governance, while delineating the new kinds of social identities that they are fostering in India. It opens up a wide arena for dialogue between activists, technologists, policy-makers and academia on the use of ICTs for development.
Food Security Atlas of Rural Jharkhand
Food Security Atlas of Rural Orissa
Food Security Atlas of Rural Bihar
Food Security Atlas of Rural Rajasthan
Food Security Atlas of Rural Madhya Pradesh
Food Security Atlas of Rural Maharashtra
Food Security Atlas of Rural Andhra Pradesh
Supported by WFP and authored by IHD Research Team each State Report Rs. 400
The food insecurity analysis and atlases assist in furthering an integrated agency approach for achieving food security in India within the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) framework. Moreover, the atlases are expected to assist the government and policy-makers in targeting interventions more efficiently. The district level atlases are expected to enhance advocacy for food security at the state level. These state atlases are being released in the respective state capitals.

Edited by: Preet Rustagi
Oxford University Press: 9780198060246 2009 Hardback Rs 750
This volume presents India’s drive to universalize elementary education and the challenges facing the endeavour.
Education experts, scholars, researchers, and practitioners discuss the impediments to inclusive education that result in the neglect of pre-school, out-of-school, over-age, and working children. Special concerns, especially of girls and socially marginalized groups are addressed. Detailed case studies discuss deficiencies in school management and administration, quality of education, teacher motivation, and teacher competency.
Readership
Educationists, practitioners, school administrators, as well as education policymakers who are looking for practical and innovative solutions to advance elementary education.

“Sheds light on the new challenges involved in reaching out to excluded children as India gets closer to this long-standing goal.”

Jean Dreze, Visiting Professor, Allahabad University

“Insightful perspectives of prominent educationists and academicians”

S.K. Thorat, Chairperson, University Grants Commission

“A scholarly production that emphatically reiterates the non-negotiable dimension of ensuring that every child goes to school”

Shantha Sinha, Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights

“Candid review of progress, new developments, as well as shortcomings and challenges in India’s efforts to universalize good quality elementary education”

A.K. Shiva Kumar, Adviser, UNICEF India

Edited by: J. Krishnamurty and R.P. Mamgain Daanish Books
ISBN: 81-89654-64-0 2009 p488 Hardback Rs. 695
The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE) has contributed immensely to the study on issues relating to labour markets, employment, employment relations and development in India during the last fifty years of its existence. The annual conferences of the Society have been important forums for discussions and exchange of views for all those interested in labour issues.
The volume, second in the series, contains the Presidential Addresses delivered at the ISLE annual conferences since 1992. These 16 addresses by some of the best economists, policy-makers and thinkers provide deep insights into the vital issues relating to growth, employment and labour markets since the initiation of wide-ranging economic reforms and the process of globalization in the country. The volume will indeed serve as an important reference on labour and development issues.

Edited by: Alakh N Sharma
Published: 1997; 247 pages
Publisher: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi
Financial Support: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, New Delhi
ISBN: 81-259-0287-2
This study was a part of a larger one on the migration problem carried out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The ILO had initiated a comprehensive research programme on migration at the beginning of 1976 under which detailed case studies involving rural and urban household surveys were carried out in a few countries including India. The case study in India was carried out in the Ludhiana district of Punjab in 1977 to throw light on the determinants of migration and its implications for rural and urban development. Since Punjab is a relatively developed state and the pattern of migration there and its implications are likely to be different from those in other less developed areas in India, the ILO proposed to the Ludhiana study, to provide comparable results under different sets of situations. In consultation with the office of the Registrar]General and after carefully examining the migration flows from the census data, the states of Bihar, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh were selected for undertaking a case study in each. It was thought that these case studies would complement the Punjab migration study and would give a reasonably comprehensive picture of the process of internal migration in India and its likely consequences. The project was attached to the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), Government of India. The case study in Bihar was entrusted to the A. N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies with me as the Project Director. The present study reports the main findings of the survey in Bihar which was conducted in the urban centres of Muzaffarpur and Bokaro Steel City and in the rural areas in the districts of saran/Siwan and Singhbhum.