Events

We develop the evidence base for the ongoing policy discourse on well-being of households at the national and sub-national level in India. We present a comprehensive picture on household earnings using data from Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2018-19. While the per capita state domestic product reveals that India is comprised of rich and poor states, we draw on PLFS 2018-19 to examine the extent of regional disparities in distribution of Monthly Per Capita Household Earnings (MPCHE). We benchmark the position of rural and urban households in the 25th, 50th and 75th percentile of a particular state or National Sample Survey (NSS) region in the corresponding all India distribution of MPCHE. The regional differences in MPCHE across states and NSS regions can be traced to differences in economic structure which then get manifested in labour market outcomes and hence earnings. We highlight the variations across regions in the mix of earnings from self-employment, regular wage / salary, and casual labor; and share of earnings from the secondary sector and primary sector.  We also focus on the strength of rural-urban linkages as evidenced by the number of commuting workers and share of rural earnings from jobs located in urban areas.

About the speakers

S.Chandrasekhar is a Professor at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai. Karthikeya Naraparaju and Ajay Sharma are Associate Professor at Indian Institute of Management, Indore. S. Chandrasekhar and Ajay Sharma have worked on the twin issues of migration and commuting in India. Karthikeya Naraparaju’s research is on labour markets and inclusive growth. This talk is based on their ongoing work on how unequal is India.

Find all the available videos of our previous workshops, here