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Purpose: This paper aims to determine the implications of Covid-19 on the livelihood of marine fishermen. It gives a concrete picture of how vulnerable communities like marine fishermen are affected due to the lockdown policies. The paper examines these communities' present status and the extent of vulnerability during the post-Covid period. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses an exploratory research design to find the solution to the research problem. 298 samples were collected and analysed within a sustainable livelihood theoretical framework. The scope of the study is limited to marine fishermen in Kerala, residing in six districts out of the nine coastal districts. The impact of the lockdown on income was analysed using paired t-test and results linked with the theory. Findings: The study has done an empirical analysis for three periods: before lockdown, lockdown and after lockdown, to identify the impact of lockdown on marine fishermen. The study's significant findings are that these fishermen's livelihood is at risk during the post-lockdown period, and many families are moving into a "debt-trap". Research limitations/implications: Policymakers can develop appropriate policy strategies to enhance the livelihood assets of vulnerable communities to include them in a sustainable framework. Originality/value: Only a few studies are highlighting the impact of Covid-19 on vulnerable communities in India. The effects of climate change on the marine ecosystem are already endangering marine fisher folks' livelihoods. In this light, it is vital to study the extent of the impact of income shock on the livelihood assets of marine fishermen due to the lockdown policy implemented in the State to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2023-0192 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The paper intends to identify the factors that determine the variations in the gender pay gap and female workforce participation at low-skill manufacturing job across Indian states over the time period 2006–2014. Design/methodology/approach: Gender pay gap is measured in two ways: one is scale insensitive and second one is scale sensitive. To construct scale-sensitive gender pay gap measure wage discrimination index is used. For main analysis, a panel framework is used. Fixed effect model and random effect model are estimated along with all relevant diagnostic tests. Findings: Empirical analysis elucidates that male literacy rate, female literacy rate and gender parity index are important factors in explaining the variation in gender pay gap and women workforce participation at sub-national level in India. Female literacy rate significantly reduces the crude pay gap; however, it has insignificant effect on scale-sensitive gender pay gap in low-skill manufacturing sector. Educational enrolment widens up the crude wage gap but narrows down the other one. In case of workforce participation educational attainment and school enrolment both reduce women workforce participation in low-skill manufacturing job. Research limitations/implications: The present research suffers from two major limitations. Due to lack of information, the paper is unable to study the impacts of female representation in trade unions, availability of supporting infrastructure like day-care facilities for working mothers, etc. in explaining the variation in gender pay gap and women workforce participation. The second limitation is that the research fails to address the issue related to selection into employment. The present paper uses the macro-level state-specific statistics instead of micro-level data; hence the imputed wage for unemployed but potential workers cannot be calculated. Originality/value: The paper is unique in the sense that it highlights gender pay gap and female workforce participation issue in low-skill manufacturing sector at Indian sub-national level. There are no such papers that highlight these issues in the context of Indian manufacturing sector. Another contribution is that the present paper considers the scale-sensitive gender pay gap, whose determinants are different than crude gender pay gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the role of institution in the combating crime in India. This study also assesses institutions for controlling property crime in India in the post-reform era. Design/methodology/approach: Crime and socio-economic data are taken from National Crime Record Bureau and the Reserve Bank of India, respectively. Twenty major Indian states are selected for the study purpose for the period of 1994–2019. Fixed effect panel data technique is used for analysis purpose. Findings: Property crime rate declines with economic growth, while it increases with financial development. Findings of fiscal policy instruments are different. Own tax is positively associated with property crime in India, while non-tax fiscal instruments such as fine, penalty, and so on, are inversely related to it. Property crime rate is inversely related to institutional factors like charge sheet and conviction rate. Research limitations/implications: Further research is needed for other crimes in India. State-level data are used here for analysis purpose; however, spatial or cluster analysis techniques might provide more insights for combating crimes in India. Practical implications: This study suggests that economic growth and fiscal instrument along with institutional development are essential to control property crime in India. Social implications: Government should take steps to improve the law-and-order system to control property crime across states. Originality/value: Impact of non-tax fiscal instrument reduces property crime while that of own tax is increases it in India. These findings are unique and added certain insight in the study. Institutional roles are captured its performances like charge sheet and convict rate, which are significantly reduce property crime in Indian states. Least square dummy variable model is applied to capture individual state effects. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2023-0063 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines India's socio-economic attributes and different financial dimensions of financial inclusion (FI). Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a principal component analysis (PCA) to build indexes related to financial dimensions. It applies the logistics regression model and the Fairlie decomposition method to determine India's socio-economic and financial characteristics of FI. Findings: Based on the logistic regression, socio-economic factors like age, gender, marital status, level of education and religion have an impact on FI. The use of financial institutions has positively contributed to the probability of FI, while the low proximity of financial service providers retards the process of FI. Fairlie decomposition concludes regional disparity and gender disparity in FI; however, the rural–urban gap in FI is not captured by the variables included in the study. The main reasons for the discrepancy are lack of education, financial literacy, the proximity of financial service providers and lack of financial institutions. Originality/value: This paper makes two important contributions: first, it presents a micro-level analysis of FI across the socio-demographic strata of India, and second, it demonstrates the regional, rural–urban and gender disparity in FI in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the labour force participation among the elderly population (aged 60 and above) in India from data available for the most recent time periods. The paper reviews the types of employment, industries and occupations that the elderly in India are employed in presently and also examines the impact of different factors on the decision of the elderly to be a part of the labour force. Design/methodology/approach: Unit-level data has been extracted from the most recent data available on employment and labour force in India provided by the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), from 2017 to 2018 to 2019–2020. Binary logistic regression model has been used to identify some of the socio-economic and demographic factors that influence the odds of the elderly being a part of the labour force along with the extent of their influence, and Wald statistic has been used to examine the dynamics. Findings: The study finds that among the elderly population, males, individuals living in rural areas, those living alone, those who are currently married and those with low educational attainment are more likely to be a part of the labour force. Again, elderly females are found to be employed mostly in the informal or unorganised sector which provide minimal or nil social security benefits. Between 2017–2018 and 2019–2020, the coefficients for sector, gender, marital status, education and income are found to be significantly different. Originality/value: This paper attempts to shed some light on the scanty literature with regards to studies on the elderly in India, and also to reveal the possible factors which induce the elderly in India to participate in the labour force with the help of the most recent data available. Peer review: The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2021-0350. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite a lot of developments in the financial markets, financial illiteracy is a main concern across the world and is directly associated with faulty financial decisions making. The situation is very alarming among a socially or economically marginalized section of society as they cannot afford to pay finance professionals for their wealth management. The objective of the study is to understand the level of financial literacy as well as its determinants among the marginalized section of society living in hilly areas. Design/methodology/approach: The study is descriptive as well as empirical in design and based on primary data collected from the 300 scheduled tribe households of Himachal Pradesh a hilly state of India. Findings: The study observed that financial literacy is very low among the scheduled tribes living, and their level of education, income, family system and Internet accessibility have a significant impact on their financial scores. Practical implications: The outcome of the paper may be useful to design customized awareness programs, and financial products focusing on scheduled tribes living in far-flung areas so that they can get the benefits of market-driven financial products. Social implications: Financial awareness can help scheduled tribes in their financial inclusion thereby reducing poverty and inequality through informed financial decisions. Thus, the outcome if implemented can help in achieving the objective of inclusive growth. Originality/value: No specific work has been done to explore the level as well as the determinants of financial literacy among the scheduled tribe households living in hill areas. This paper will fill this gap and contributes to the existing work on financial literacy and inclusion. Peer review: The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2023-0008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Since the last decade, debates regarding the efficiency and effectiveness of the forms of transfer, i.e. in the form of in-kind or cash transfers, have been gaining momentum. This paper aims to explore the preferences revealed by the beneficiaries, the role of contextual conditions in moulding these preferences, factors associated with the transfer scheme that defines the preferences and the rationale behind such responses. Design/methodology/approach: The study conducted involves primary data collected from an Indian state, Odisha. 308 beneficiaries of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) were interviewed concerning specific objectives in a rural district (Mayurbhanj) and another highly urbanised district (Khordha). Findings: The comparative results show that the strength of the contextual conditions significantly influences the preferences of the beneficiaries in the rural district as compared to the effect on the beneficiaries of the urban district. Education seems to have an insignificant impact in rural areas. However, income and standard of living have positive significant effects on shaping the preferences for cash or in-kind transfers. Originality/value: Examining the strength of the contextual conditions and emphasising beneficiaries' perspectives would stimulate a better understanding of the implementation of the proposed quasi-Universal Basic Income. The study would hence, be instrumental in dealing with the transition towards cash transfers in the Indian context where the co-responsibility of both stakeholders, the government and the beneficiaries, should be given equal weightage. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2023-0158 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is twofold. Firstly, the study has investigated the changing scenario of gender bias in households' education expenditure and the socioeconomic factors responsible for it. Secondly, the study has estimated the inequality in education expenditure for the male and female students and determined the significance of socioeconomic variables in gender discrimination. Design/methodology/approach: To address the above-mentioned issues, this paper has used the unit-level data of NSSO 52nd, 64th, 71st and 75th rounds from 1995–1996 to 2017–2018. The log linear regression model is applied to estimate factor impending average education expenditure dynamics. The Oaxaca–Blinder Decomposition method has been employed to measure gender discrimination, and the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient are used to assess inequality among girls experiencing prejudice. Findings: The study has discovered an gender bias in education expenditure against females during the study period in India. Further, it has been found that gender discrimination against girl students is decreasing. Moreover, the factors such as age, religion, castes, MPCE (income quantile), type of institution, present enrolment and type of education are responsible for this gender differences. Originality/value: This paper uses 20 years of household-level data for study and suggests that discriminatory behaviour of households and credit constraints of the underdeveloped countries prevent investment in girl's education. Therefore, the state must pay for education of girls by offering scholarships and free or heavily subsidized education. In addition to this, awareness programs for gender equality should also be implemented by the government, especially in rural areas. Peer review: The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0537. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Microfinance programs across the countries are designed on the self-help and peer pressure model, aim at microentrepreneurship development. Despite of significant studies on microfinance-supported microentrepreneurship (MSM), not a single literature examines it from the systems thinking. In addition to that, the extant literature did not look MSM from the behavioral perspectives. To address the above gaps, the present study aims to examine self-help group (SHG)-based microfinance programs from the systems approach using the Stimulus-Organism-Behavior-Consequence (SOBC) model. Design/methodology/approach: Information gathered from 786 women SHG members from four states of India through a structured interview schedule. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) were conducted to process data. Additional statistical tests were performed to test the reliability and validity. Findings: It was found that the "positive stimulus" (social intermediation, financial intermediation and business development services) positively impacted; and "negative stimulus" (intermediation accountability, and intermediation assumption) negatively impact, to "motive" (attitude, subjective norms, and perceived control) for micro-entrepreneurship in the SHG-based microfinance. Further, "motive" positively predicted "behavioral intention"; the "behavioral intention" positively determined "consequences" of micro-entrepreneurship. Intermediation as stimuli acted as "input"; the motive and behavioral intention acted as the "process", and the consequence acted as the "output" in the SHG-based microentrepreneurship system. Originality/value: To the best of the author's knowledge, this paper is the first one to examine the behavioral systems of microentrepreneurship programs through the Stimulus-Organism-Behavior-Consequence (SOBC) model. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2022-0801 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Using data from 2009–2016 across 31 states and union territories, this paper investigates determinants of juvenile delinquency in India as well as explores the nature of the complex relationship between economic variables and crime rate. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a panel corrected standard error model due to the presence of heteroskedasticity and contemporaneous correlation. Additionally, due to possible feedback effect from independent variables resulting in endogeneity, a two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) is utilized to estimate a system of equations. Findings: Estimation results indicate that macroeconomic factors – GSDP per capita and adult unemployment rate – are significant in explaining the juvenile crime rate in India. Higher poverty rate and percentage of slums were found to increase juvenile crime. This paper also demonstrates the harmful effects that domestic violence has on juvenile delinquency. Finally, education has a deterring impact on crimes relating to juveniles but deterrence factors do not. Originality/value: While some implications are consistent with those found in previous studies of crime in developed and developing countries, the analysis in this paper also reveals unique results. For example, the adult unemployment rate was negatively correlated with juvenile crime, and an increase in police density exhibits a positive association with the juvenile crime rate. Further analysis of crimes by type (property and violent) reveals additional insights. In addition to that, contrary to hypothesis, by employing GMM estimation, the paper finds no evidence of a negative impact of juvenile delinquency on economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the effect of macroeconomic uncertainty on environmental degradation in India over the period 1971–2016. Additionally, this paper considers the role of financial development, energy consumption intensity and economic growth in explaining the variation of environmental degradation in India. Design/methodology/approach: The authors applied the power generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model to measure inflation volatility and used it as a proxy for macroeconomic uncertainty. From a methodological perspective, the authors employ the autoregressive distributive lag bound testing model to establish the long-run equilibrium association between the variables. The Toda–Yamamoto causality approach has been used to examine the direction of causality between the variables. Findings: Findings suggest that macroeconomic uncertainty exerts a positive effect on carbon emissions, indicating that higher inflation volatility, as a proxy for macroeconomic uncertainty, hinders India's environmental quality. Financial development, economic growth and energy consumption intensity have also adversely impacted environmental quality. Practical implications: The negative association between macroeconomic uncertainty and environmental degradation calls for some stringent policy actions. While formulating policies to promote growth and maintain stability, policymakers and government stakeholders should take into account the environmental effects of macroeconomic policies. There is a need to implement more environmental-friendly technologies in the financial sector that could reduce carbon emission. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first that considers the role of macroeconomic uncertainty along with financial development and energy intensity in an emerging economy like India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims at analyzing the determinants of access to relief under social assistance programs among rural households during COVID-19 outbreaks in India. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on the data of COVID-19-Related Shocks Survey, which covered 5,200 rural households across 6 states of India namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The access to relief has been assessed as relief-in kind (RIK) as a free special package of wheat, rice, and pulses, supplied through the public distribution system; and direct benefit transfer (DBT) in cash under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The association between demographic profiles of rural households and access to relief has been analyzed using the chi-square test. Further, marginal effects have been estimated to assess the determinants of rural households' access to relief. Findings: The results show a significant association between types of relief vis-à-vis demographic profiles of the rural households. A significant difference in access to relief among rural households is also evident across the states. Further, the analysis of the marginal effects indicates that female-headed households belonging to lower social class, depending on non-agricultural occupation with lower income, belonging to below poverty line families and seeking wage employment, are more likely to access relief as food grains; whereas male respondents with lower age, belonging to lower-income quartile with memberships in Self Help Groups are more likely to access the cash benefit transfers. Practical implications: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the food security and livelihood of many across the globe, which necessitated provisioning a package of support to everyone, particularly rural poor households. The World Bank undertook the COVID-19-Related Shocks Survey to provide a quick policy response for managing the risk of COVID-19 outbreak effectively. The results of this study provide timely insights for developing an effective relief strategy for rural households during a crisis. Originality/value: There is limited investigation on access to relief by rural households during the COVID-19 outbreaks and factors affecting the access to relief in terms of cash and kind. This study has utilized a reliable data source to analyze the access of relief packages by the rural communities during the coronavirus outbreak. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2021-0632. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial sector development and poverty reduction in India using annual data from 1970 to 2012. The paper attempts to answer the critical question: does financial sector development lead to poverty reduction? Design/methodology/approach – Stationarity properties of the series are checked by using Ng-Perron unit root test. The paper uses the Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound testing approach to co-integration to examine the existence of long-run relationship; error-correction mechanism for the short-run dynamics and Granger non-causality test to test the direction of causality. Findings – The co-integration test confirms a long-run relationship between financial development and poverty reduction for India. The ARDL test results suggest that financial development and economic growth reduces poverty in both long run and short run. The causality test confirms that there is a positive and unidirectional causality running from financial development to poverty reduction. Research limitations/implications – This study implies that poverty in India can be reduced by financial inclusion and financial accessibility to the poor. For a fast growing economy with respect to financial sector development this may have far-reaching implication toward inclusive growth. Originality/value – This paper is the first of its kind to empirically examine the causal relationship between financial sector development and poverty reduction in India using modern econometric techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper analyses the relationship between financial sector development (FSD) and life insurance inclusion in India during the period from 1971–1972 to 2016–2017. The study analyses the effect of financial deepening on life insurance inclusion in India. Design/methodology/approach: The study employs augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) unit roots test to check the stationarity properties of the time series data. It estimates a life insurance inclusion model using the auto-regressive distributed lag model (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration. Findings: The study finds evidence of a cointegrating relationship between financial deepening and life insurance inclusion in India. A significant error correction coefficient indicates automatic adjustments to short-run disequilibrium, reinforcing the cointegrating relationship between financial sector and life insurance inclusion. Research limitations/implications: A major limitation of the study is that it excludes the first-time sum assured (FSA) contributed by the private sector life insurance companies due to lack of data availability. Practical implications: The results of the study call for faster expansion of the financial sector and provision of a low interest rate regime in the Indian economy. The study invokes the need for sufficient training to the personnel in the banking and non-banking institutions to cater to the complex needs of life insurance buyers. Originality/value: The paper estimates the link between FSD and life insurance inclusion and introduces a new measure of life insurance demand, the life insurance inclusion, measured using the FSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to test for spatial convergence in financial inclusion across major Indian states and union territories. Design/methodology/approach: After initially building an Index of Financial Inclusion (IFI) for major Indian states between 2003 and 2016, exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) is employed to draw inferences about mean and variance of IFI. The paper then seeks to confirm the ESDA results through spatial panel regression techniques. Finally, spatial results are correlated with results from aspatial convergence measures. Findings: The study finds that there is no evidence of spatial convergence in financial inclusion over the study period, suggesting that those states that were relatively less financially included remained so through the study period. The study also asserts the relevance of certain important determinants, namely, per capita income, infrastructure, industrialization and gender. Research limitations/implications: This study has two limitations. First, only banking institutions are considered in measuring financial inclusion. Second, due to lack of a consistent indicator of gender participation across states, we had to employ sex ratio as a proxy. Practical implications: The study suggests that policies to expand financial inclusion in Indian states, especially those with low inclusion levels are likely to benefit neighbouring states also, thereby accelerating the financial inclusion drive across states. Originality/value: The study is a first in the Indian context to estimate the spatial dependence of financial inclusion and provides relevant implications for policymakers and bankers to target financial inclusion schemes in backward states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper attempts to measure the state-wise impact of Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in 30 states and 6 union territories of India for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018; and tries to develop a state-wise plan for geographical expansion of outlets optimizing the overall impact of the scheme. Design/methodology/approach: The state-wise impact factor is calculated using demographic penetration of the scheme in rural areas, demographic penetration of the scheme in urban areas, percentage of accounts with Rupay cards and average balance in these accounts. The impact factor is postulated to be a linear function of literacy, per capita GDP, demographic and geographic penetration of banks and the number of poor people. The weights for the sub-parameters are derived through principal component analysis. A generalized linear model with heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation consistency method for estimation of the equation with robust standard errors is used. Findings: It is found that the scheme has been more effective in the states with higher levels of illiteracy which is contrary to the findings of existing studies where illiteracy is identified as a barrier to financial inclusion. A state-wise plan for geographical expansion of outlets is proposed with a view to optimizing the overall impact of the scheme, along with suggestions for improvement. Research limitations/implications: The data for ATMs and bank mitras are available for some of the years, for some states and hence missing data were estimated using extrapolation or on an average basis. Furthermore, the panel data are available for three years making the period of panel small. These aspects might have affected the efficacy of our estimates. Originality/value: The paper evaluates the newly launched ambitious program PMJDY by the Government of India (GoI), it will have far reaching impact on financial inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims at assessing the impact of innovation on productivity as sustainable development can be attained primarily through non-resource-driven growth. Secondly, it also proposes to reflect on the rising capital intensity in the Indian industries as technology advancement, particularly in the light of the fourth industrial revolution, is expected to reduce the labour absorbing capacity of the industrial sector. Design/methodology/approach: Based on panel data for different Indian firms in various groups of industries, this paper estimates TFPG and TE (following Cornwell et al. methodology) and assesses the impact of R&D expenditure on the performance indices. Secondly, it measures the capital intensity across various groups of industries to reflect on the "employment problem". Findings: Innovation does not seem to enhance the performance index in a very significant manner across industry groups considered in the study. The lack of extensive evidence on impact of innovation on total factor productivity growth suggests that innovation does not necessarily result in technological progress while the need of the hour is to experience non-resource-driven growth on the one hand and employment growth on the other. The positive impact of innovation on efficiency as seen in the paper can be interpreted as the expenditure incurred to realize the potentiality of the technology which is possibly imported. However, capital accumulation is resulting in rapid productivity growth at the cost of employment. Research limitations/implications: Capturing technological progress in terms of TFPG can be subjected to criticism. Practical implications: Policy implications for employment generation and inclusive growth are derived. Social implications: The study cautions us about the adverse implications in terms of employment growth. Originality/value: Assessing the impact of innovation on performance such as TFPG and TE is rather rare in the literature, and this paper tries to reflect on this aspect using the Indian firm-level data. Secondly, the trade-offs between productivity growth and employment growth are brought out distinctly in order to highlight the declining labour absorbing capacity of the industrial sector. This enables us to reflect on the adverse consequences of the fourth industrial revolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper uses data from 2010 to 2016 across 32 states and union territories to investigate the determinants of crime in India. Results indicate the significance of macroeconomic, demographic, socioeconomic and deterrence factors in accounting for various categories of crime. Design/methodology/approach: Due to the evidence of heteroskedasticity and cross-sectional dependence, linear regression with panel-corrected standard errors is implemented. Findings: It has been found that among the macroeconomic factors, only GSDP per capita was found relevant in explaining total crime rates. However, the unemployment rate and price level are crucial in explaining some categories of crime. The demographic factor, that is, population density, socioeconomic factors, that is, income inequality, poverty rate, literacy rate exhibit important and significant relationship with crime rates in India. Further, out of the four deterrence factors, charge-sheeting rate, conviction rate, pendency in police cases are important in explaining various categories of crime rates in India. Originality/value: While implications of some socioeconomic variables are consistent with those found in previous studies, literacy rates and deterrence variables were found to have a positive association with crime. In particular, in a developing country such as India, white-collar crimes tend to increase as literacy rates increase. This calls for implementing policies that lead to greater employment opportunities for the educated masses. This paper also sheds light on the relationship between deterrence factors and crime rates in India. Deficiencies in the legal and judicial system have been detrimental to the nation's ability to curb crime rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Agriculture insurance is the panacea for the farming community. Many policy interventions were implemented for stimulating agriculture insurance access to farmers in India. However, access to agriculture insurance constantly remained one of the major challenges to Indian policy planners. The goal of the present paper is to explore current policy interventions in the area of agriculture insurance in India. Design/methodology/approach: The present paper reviews and analyzes the evidence literature through a content analysis method on development and performance analysis perspective of existing agriculture insurance schemes in India. Findings: Agriculture insurance is a significant risk management policy, but this is not easily reachable to the majority of farmers in India. The government of India introduces a novel agriculture scheme every decade, but every crop insurance scheme was inconsistent and ineffective owing to operational defects. Agriculture insurance in India is still developing in terms of coverage, scope, and exposure, but farmers' dissatisfaction about agriculture insurance turned out to be a negative word of mouth. Insurance illiteracy and farmers' preference for agriculture relief payments are the main reasons for limited access to agriculture insurance. The current crop insurance schemes are improperly operated because of implementation issues at the state level. Research limitations/implications: This paper will be useful for researchers and academicians to analyze the past and present status of crop insurance in India. Originality/value: The paper is the unique work of the authors as it has attempted to present India's journey with agriculture insurance. An effort is made in the present study to provide a comprehensive and holistic developmental and performance analysis perspective of agriculture insurance in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims at analysing the socio-economic characteristics, mobile phone ownership and banking behaviour as key determinants of digital financial inclusion in India. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on the Global Findex Survey of the World Bank covering 3,000 adult individuals in India. Simple statistical tools such as descriptive statistics, chi-square test and regression analysis with a marginal effect have been used for the data analysis. Findings: About 35.2% of respondents have reported using digital financial services in the country. There is a significant association between the socio-economic profiles of individuals with the adoption of digital financial services in terms of gender, age, education, occupation and income. The marginal effect indicates that socio-economic factors, mobile phone ownership and banking behaviour of individuals towards borrowings and savings have indicated significant influence on digital financial inclusion. The analysis depicts that male with higher age, education, working status and higher income are more likely to adopt digital financial services. Further, individuals with mobile phone ownership and utilising banking in terms of borrowings and savings are more likely to adopt digital financial services. Practical implications: As digital banking services have emerged as a preferred channel for financial service delivery, this study provides timely insights on developing user driven-strategies for promoting digital financial services. Originality/value: Socio-economic characteristics, mobile phone ownership and banking behaviour are critical determinants of financial inclusion, so assessing its implications in the era of digitisation becomes imperative. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-10-2022-0673. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to understand how, in tough economic times, British-owned, English language newspapers such as The Pioneer received and filtered news, especially gender-related and nationalist-related events and thinking. Design/methodology/approach – Using qualitative and quantitative methods to assess communications by and about pro-nationalist women, coverage of female activities was categorised into two groups: first, educational, social and peaceful campaigns and second, direct action such as strikes, burning of British cloth and business/land rent boycotts. Findings – Direct action provided "bad news" coverage, but it simultaneously gave a small window for publicity. Less threatening peaceful campaigns provided a bigger window – enhanced by the novelty value of female activism. Research limitations/implications – Historians need to look specifically at Indian newspapers during the struggle for independence for a counter-hegemonic discourse that reached a wide public. When evidence of women's activism is paired with financial news, it becomes clear that women had a negative impact on British business. Furthermore, The Pioneer's own business dilemmas made the paper part of the economic and ideological maelstrom that it reported on. Originality/value – This is the first time that the colonial press in India itself has been scrutinised in detail on the subject of the rising nationalist movement and women. Findings underline female influence on both economics and ideology – a neglected aspect of Indian gender scholarship and economic history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: India has shown good progress in maternal health outcome indicators. However, an area for improvement is to ensure all deliveries take place in institutions under the supervision of skilled birth attendants. This paper attempts to identify the factors that affect institutional deliveries using nationally representative National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data. Further, the authors investigate the factors contributing to the wealth-based inequality in institutional deliveries. Design/methodology/approach: To address the first aspect of identifying the factors associated with undergoing an institutional delivery, the authors have used logistic and multinominal logistic models. The explanatory variables are broadly socio-economic indicators of the mother and a few other household characteristics. Further, the concentration index and regression-based decomposition were used to carry out an inequality analysis in the institutional deliveries across different wealth groups. Findings: The authors found that women belonging to poor households, backward social groups and rural areas have significantly fewer odds of undergoing an institutional delivery. Age and education level of the mother, number of antenatal visits during pregnancy and place of residence (urban/rural) have contributed to the inequality in institutional deliveries in 2005–2006. However, the inequality due to these factors went down drastically in 2015–2016. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is a distinct attempt to use pooled data of the NFHS-3 [2005–2006] and NFHS-4 [2015–2016] in identifying factors contributing to a woman undergoing an institutional-based delivery. The study also decomposes the wealth-based inequality in the factors contributing to having an institutional delivery and analyses the contributions to inequality across the two time periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aims to examine the patterns of time allocated to paid employment activities by women in India as well as change in time allocating pattern of women over the period 1998 to 2019. In doing so, it attempts to highlight gender-asymmetry of time use and heterogeneity in time use of women residing in urban and rural areas as well as variations in time use by marital status, motherhood and age. Design/methodology/approach: Using unit-level data from two available Time Use Surveys (TUS) namely the Pilot Survey TUS 1998 and first nationally representative TUS 2019, the authors use Tobit model to estimate determinants of women's time in employment. To explain the change in time spent on paid work by women over the two decades, the authors use counterfactual quantile regression decomposition. Findings: The gender asymmetry in time allocation is stark, with women spending one fifth time compared to men paid employment activities. Over the two decades of interest, women's time spent on employment activities in a day has reduced by half from around 4 h to 2 h, largely driven by rural women's time. Regression results suggest the emergence of a "U-shaped" relationship between time spent on paid work and education of women. The counterfactual decomposition results suggest that women are spending lesser time on employment activities in 2019 than in 1998 across the time distribution. Originality/value: This paper contributes to a novel understanding of time use by women in a developing country by analysing the changes in time use over two decades as well as distributional sensitivity to observed characteristics. The study informs about the intensive margins of female employment by incorporating dynamics of socio-economic development. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2022-0164. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Primary agricultural cooperative credit societies (PACSs) in India are considered to be the backbone of the last mile delivery of rural credit for landless and marginal farmers and the poorest sections of the society. Contribution of PACS in social welfare is well documented. However, in spite of being such important form of organization at the grass root level, the authors find a typical baffling phenomenon which is fluctuating growth of PACS. Given that PACS have not been able to establish a consistent growth rate, thus hindering its trajectory to become a strong and consolidated organizational form, it is natural to investigate and identify those success factors that are critical for a newly formed PACS to survive and sustain. Hence it is necessary to undertake a strategic assessment of the function of PACS and hence identify those critical success factors (CSFs). This paper aims to address this issue. Design/methodology/approach: The authors review the existing literature and conduct interview with experts and other stakeholders with the purpose to gain a view of the strategic situation of PACS in India, especially with respect to their birth and death processes and identify a set of factors that are critical to the survival and sustenance of PACS. Based on the inputs from the experts, we modelled the interrelationships amongst these CSFs using interpretive structural modelling (ISM). Further, fuzzy Matriced' Impacts Croise's Multiplication Appliquée a UN Classement (MICMAC) analysis is performed to cluster these CSFs into four quadrants based on their influence and dependence in the system. Findings: The findings point out that a hierarchical interconnected structure exists amongst the CSFs that influence the survival and sustenance of the PACSs. "Quality and Motivation of Management" was found to be driving all other factors so far the survival of any PACS is considered. Also the authors have found that "Loan Recovery" is the most sensitive factor that needs to be taken care of for the sustenance of PACS. These findings are in the expected line and commensurate with the conventional wisdom yet to be documented till date. Originality/value: It is a forward-looking analysis that tries to find out the CSFs for the survival of PACS in order to face the changing economic scenario of India which is still agrarian in nature. Both in terms of research question as well as methodology, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is first of its kind so far PACS are concerned being one of the most important but neglected entities in India; so far the last mile rural agricultural credit delivery is concerned, this study will help the policy makers to develop a holistic viewpoint in relation to long term sustenance of PACS. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2022-0331 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Few empirical studies examined the relationship between life expectancy and income in India. This study aims to examine the impact of life expectancy on economic growth in India by incorporating all the major states of India. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on secondary data and includes 16 major states of India covering the periods 2000–2014. The author used panel fixed effect model (FEM) to examine the impact of life expectancy on economic growth. Findings: Empirical analysis revealed a positive trend in life expectancy in India. In association with life expectancy, the author found continuous growth in the elderly population. The result of the FEM shows that gains in life expectancy positively affect economic growth in India. The empirical findings do not support any negative impact of life expectancy gains on economic growth. Originality/value: This study is the outcome of the independent and original research work of the authors and contributes significantly to the literature on the demography–economic relationship. The findings of this study help the author to understand that life expectancy gain is in no way a constraint, rather the skill and experience of the workforce are crucial to determining economic growth. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2022-0422. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Government of India has launched FPOs to organise small and marginal farmers into farmer collectives called FPOs. These FPOs, through economies of scale, aim to provide better collective strength to farmers for better access to production technology, value-addition services, high-quality inputs and marketing services for improving their incomes. Recently, the government has launched a scheme for creation and promotion of 10,000 more FPOs in the country. Despite potential benefits of FPOs and encouragement from the Government, there are many farmers in India, particularly Sikkim, who do not join the FPOs. This study aims to identify the major determinants that motivate farmers to join FPOs. Design/methodology/approach: Primary data for this study was collected during October, 2019–February, 2020 from 560 farm households in all four districts of Sikkim, India. The study used two-sample t-test and FPO participation probit model for determining the factors influencing a household's decision to participate in an FPO. Findings: The results of this study illustrate that education, farming experience, farming as the primary occupation, size of landholding, access to Internet, distance to the nearest market, medium level of social participation, extension contact, transportation facility and plan to expand the scale of operation in future are the major explanatory variables that have statistically significant impact on the farm households' participation in FPOs. Research limitations/implications: This study was based on a cross-sectional survey. As a result, the findings may be subjected to some limitations though the study made all possible efforts to minimise the limitations. Originality/value: This paper is based on or a novel data set, collected specifically to examine the determinants of membership in Sikkim, India that has not been studied before. Moreover, this study has identified the importance of information and awareness initiatives among the farmers as responsible for farmers' participation in FPOs. The findings of this study will have important implications and lessons to draw from for the Central Government's effort towards Formation and Promotion of 10,000 new FPOs, especially in the hilly states of India. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2022-0216. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims at identifying the antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions among females in India using the theory of planned behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on the Adult Population Survey (APS) of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which has covered 1,683 female respondents from India. The data has been analysed using simple techniques such as chi-square statistics and logistics regression. The antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions have been identified using the theory of planned behaviour. Findings: About 20% of the adult females have reported intention for starting an entrepreneurial venture in the country. A significant relationship emerged between the demographics of females with and without intention towards entrepreneurship. The results showed that there is a positive and significant effect of attitudes towards the behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control to the entrepreneurial intentions among females. Practical implications: This paper provides insights on factors affecting entrepreneurial intention among females and helps in developing a policy framework for promoting new ventures among female entrepreneurs. This also explores the possibility of future research on entrepreneurial intention in the Indian context. Originality/value: Considering the current focus of the government in India for promoting new ventures, this piece of research can be valuable for different stakeholders in adopting a gender-based approach in implementing inclusive entrepreneurial initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper analyzes the welfare implications of the unequal distribution of wealth amongst the social and religious groups by studying the segregation of these groups across different occupations. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use measures suggested by Alonso-Villar and Río (2017) and del Río and Alonso-Villar (2018) to compute the well-being of social groups (based on caste system prevalent in the Indian subcontinent) and religious groups due to their segregation across different regions (urban and rural) and occupations and social welfare loss of the society due to the segregation. Here social groups comprise of ST: Scheduled Tribe, SC: Scheduled Caste, OBC: Other Backward Caste and Others: other remaining castes; while, religious groups comprise of followers of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and other religious groups. Findings: The result shows that SC and ST groups are worse; while, the "others" group is better off due to the segregation of social groups across both regions and occupation. Similarly, in the case of religious groups, the analysis reveals that followers of Christianity are better off due to the segregation across region and occupation. It further shows that followers of Hinduism are negatively impacted while followers of Islam and other religious groups were better off due to the segregation across the regions. Originality/value: Various researchers have studied the wealth inequality and unequal distribution in India over the years but did not dive further into the welfare implications of segregation of social and religious groups from wealth perspectives in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine income inequality and income mobility, which have been central to understanding India’s recent economic development.Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the first two waves of the India Human Development Survey data for the year 2004–2005 and 2011–2012 to analyze income inequality and income mobility using longitudinal data, and is the first to do so at a nationally representative level. In this research paper, we address three related research questions: How have been the patterns of income mobility in India? What are the trends, levels and sources of income inequality in India? and finally And What is the structure of household income mobility?Findings The paper examines the trends, levels, sources and factors of income inequality and income mobility in India between 2005 and 2012. The results further show the case for high persistence at the top of income distribution but lower persistence at the bottom.Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack spatial analysis. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.Practical implications The paper suggests that, in the end, the nature of longer-term well-being is crucial to designing policy interventions to effectively tackle inequality, and economic mobility can be seen as an avenue to long-term equality.Social implications This study can further be extended to look at polarization issues at the national and sub-national levels.Originality/value This paper shows the analytical framework of additive decomposition of income mobility out of two sources, namely mobility due to the transfer of income within given structure and mobility due to economic growth or contraction in rural and urban India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The welfare impacts of the food security on the beneficiaries can be understood from multiple dimensions. This paper, thus, examines the impact of the India's National Food Security Act (NFSA) on the welfare of the beneficiary households from a multidimensional perspective. Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on a sample household survey covering three different states of India. The stratified random sampling technique was used to select the states, districts and blocks. Sample villages and households were selected purposively. A total of 1,523 households comprising 1,069 beneficiary and 454 non-beneficiary households constituted the sample. In order to find out the impact of the programme on different dimensions of welfare, the endogenous switching regression model is employed as it helps control for any absence of randomization and the unobserved heterogeneity bias. Propensity score matching is also employed to supplement the results. Findings: The substitution effect and income effect of the food subsidy policy combined improve the overall welfare of the households presented through the subjective measures of food consumption behaviour, income transfer and educational achievements. The bargaining effect of the food subsidy programme is reflected in the enhanced social status and women's empowerment. The food security programme seems to augment the food consumption of the beneficiaries as observed from the food consumption score. Research limitations/implications: The food security policy has improved the overall welfare of the households and can play a major role in enhancing household welfare even further. The non-beneficiaries' welfare could have increased if they would have been included in the food security programme. The subjective assessment may, however, be subjected to personal biases, and there is also absence of a common reference point. Hence, the implications of the findings may be generalized with caution. Originality/value: This study provides evidences of the impacts of food subsidy from a multidimensional standpoint considering both subjective and objective dimensions of household welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Since finance is an efficacious instrument for economic development, social inclusion and women empowerment, the present paper examines the determinants of accessing institutional and non-institutional finance across male- and female-headed households in rural India. Design/methodology/approach: Multinomial logistic regression is applied for categorizing households' accessing finance in four categories, namely Only Institutional Finance (IF), Only Non-institutional Finance (NIF), Both Sources of Finance (BF) and Neither Source of Finance (N). Both household and state-level determinants have been analysed. Household data set is sourced from the Situation Assessment Survey (NSSO, 70th round) and state-level data sets from Basic Road Statistics 2016, Agricultural Statistics at a Glance 2016, Rainfall Statistics of India 2014, database on Indian Economy RBI and Census 2011. Econometric regressions have been evaluated for female-headed households (FHHs), male-headed households (MHHs) and overall pooled households (HHs). Findings: Four important findings emerge. First, FHHs have a lower probability of accessing IF and a higher probability of accessing NIF vis-a-vis MHHs. Second, in general, education levels, monthly household consumption expenditure, land size holding, irrigated area and penetration of scheduled commercial banks favourably influence FHHs accessing IF. Third, FHHs belonging to socially disadvantaged castes have a lower probability of accessing IF. Fourth, a substantial proportion of FHHs accesses neither IF nor NIF relative to MHHs. Practical implications: The paper thoroughly addresses the issue of accessing finance by FHHs and MHHs, which will further assist policymakers in formulating holistic financial policies for rural India. Social implications: The paper recommends increasing women's access to financial services as an effective tool for reducing poverty and lowering income inequality in rural India. Originality/value: This article contributes to the scant empirical literature on finance and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial development and income inequality in India using annual data from 1982-2012. Design/methodology/approach -- Stationarity properties of the series are checked by using ADF, DF-GLS, KPSS and Ng-Perron unit root tests. The paper applied the auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound testing approach to co-integration to examine the existence of long run relationship; and error correction mechanism for the short run dynamics. Findings -- The co-integration test confirms a long run relationship between financial development and income inequality for India. The ARDL test results suggest that financial development, economic growth, inflation aggravates the income inequality in both long run and short run. However, trade openness reduces the gap between rich and poor in India. Research limitations/implications -- The present recommend for appropriate economic and financial reforms focussing on financial inclusion to reduce income inequality in India. Originality/value -- Till date, there is hardly any study that makes a clear comparison between market-based indicator and bank based indicator of financial development in India and those examining the relationship between finance and income inequality nexus. Further there is hardly any study to include gini coefficient as a proxy for inequality for India and apply ARDL techniques of co-integration, using the basic principles of GJ hypothesis and provide short run and long run dynamics for India. So the contribution of the paper is to fill these research gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- Drugs and pharmaceuticals assume importance in the healthcare system today for their capacity to replace costly treatments like surgery. The pharmaceutical industry is considered capital intensive and building a new product costs as much as $900 million. Though the cost of developing a new product is significantly low in a country like India, it is substantial. Therefore, perhaps, companies try to go for incremental innovation. This apart, finding new symptoms to promote products, hiding major side effects, publishing data mixing the outcomes of different studies, publishing major outcomes in reputed journals and poor outcome studies in less important journals are some of the strategies being adopted by pharmaceutical companies. The purpose of this paper is to analyze these issues and their impacts on the Indian economy. As most of the Indian pharmaceutical companies are in private hands, this paper focuses on the possible plight of Indian poor in the changing world order. Design/methodology/approach -- This paper draws upon earlier research undertaken by the author. His experience from the pharmaceutical industry as well as the published works of other researchers also helped complete the work. Findings - The analysis of this paper indicates that in order to avoid the loss of revenue and to keep their businesses floating, drug and pharmaceutical companies resort to information manipulation. Research limitations/implications -- The research is limited to the author's ability to review literatures in the field of marketing and corporate ethics related to drugs and pharmaceuticals. As competition and economic liberalization would have a significant impact on pharmaceutical brand-success, therefore, perhaps, drug companies would resort to manipulations for survival This paper is an attempt to alert the society to these sorts of information laundering. Practical implications -- This paper would perhaps provide consumers with necessary information to understand the unethical practices being adopted by drug companies and help them consider what exactly to look for and would press for their right to good health. Originality/value -- This paper is the record of original work done by the author. It would probably fulfill an identified need and would perhaps help the society fight unethical practices being adopted by pharmaceutical companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate whether the motives behind sending remittances differ for the migrants from single- and multi-migrant families in India. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses the second round of India Human Development Survey conducted in the year 2012 to analyse migrant's motives using the two-part model and the sample selection model (SSM). Here, the probit model is used to model whether the migrant sends the remittances and then the amount of remittances is modelled using the ordinary least squares method. The SSM assumes that these two decisions are interdependent. This migrant-level study is the first to segregate single- and multiple-migrant settings and compare them for the existence of altruism or inheritance motives. Findings: The findings indicate altruism as the main motive behind remittances for the single migrants in India. On the other hand, presence of inheritance motive is evident along with altruism in the multi-migrant setting. Research limitations/implications: The analysis is restricted due to limited availability of information on migrant as the data are collected from the migrant's family at origin. Originality/value: This is the first study to use a unique nationally representative survey which enables it to point out differences in the motives behind remittances for the single-migrant and multi-migrant settings in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to reveal the contribution of counter-hegemonic communications towards the origins of anti-colonialism in French India during the years 1935-1937 and thereby to illuminate the relationship between press, economics and ideology in a colonial context. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents a qualitative study of local archives in Tamil and French, including indigenous print communications such as the workers' paper Swandanthiram. These are used as a prism for analysis of the development of a workers' public voice during major textile strikes, and assessed in the light of John Downing's definitions of advocacy journalism. Findings - Communications were directly connected to disempowerment and lack of civil, political and economic rights. The formation of legal worker organisations for the first time and a new political party provided the context in which activist leaders adopted a twofold vertical and lateral strategy in their publications, to promote their formative anti-colonial ideas. Research limitations/implications - This research illuminates the relationship between press, economics and ideology in a colonial context, demonstrating the importance of economic factors in rise of nationalist movements and the way press usage is connected to basic civil, political and economic rights. Originality/value - The paper traces a forgotten episode in the history of a neglected corner of French empire, significant for the emergence of the indigenous population - including peasant women - for the first time from the private to the public sphere as an organised force - a factor that has previously been ignored by historians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to employ a unified data base to map the basics of the global environmental predicament today, namely the living Planer Report. Design/methodology/approach - The paper provides review and critique of the measurement rod in the Ecological Footprint Framework consisting of the hectares, or area of land, air or sea, used by mankind in production and consumption (demand) as well as the hectares that a country has inherited from its past (supply). Biocapacity tends to be country specific. Findings - When total ecological imprint is estimated, taking population size into account, then it is not tenable to argue that pollution goes with affluence. On the contrary, poor or medium income countries with a large population may have more ecological impact than super affluent countries, especially after biocapacity has been taken into account. Research limitations/implications - To be effective, a policy aiming at reducing the ecological footprint of social systems must take population numbers into account. The per capita figures present only half of the truth, as population size has a huge impact upon pollution and emissions. Practical implications - Global ecological pressure is the largest in the Asia-Pacific region. A future global environmental policy - Kyoto II or Copenhagen I - must include the huge Asian countries - China and India - on an equal footing with other countries. Originality/value - The distinction between per capita emissions and total emissions. Any global ecology policy that confuses these two measures will be flawed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose — The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical model to explore the economic consequences of an exogenous skill-biased technological change. Design/methodology/approach — The paper develops a theoretical model based on assumptions and conditions that replicate those of a government-sponsored poverty reduction programme in India. Findings — The paper finds that, under certain stated conditions, wage inequality between artisans with improved toolkits and those without is likely to increase, while, under a different set of conditions, this is likely to decrease. Research limitations/implications — Actual wage inequality implications of specific exogenous skill-biased technological changes need to be studied to take the theoretical model further. Practical implications — One major implication is that, when government help is provided by way of an exogenous skill-biased technological change to a fraction of workers, it may have the unintended consequence of increasing wage inequality between the beneficiary and the non-beneficiary workers. In extreme cases, it may even lower the equilibrium wages of the non-beneficiary workers. Originality/value — The paper brings out the critical role of efficiency units of workers with skill-biased technology (artisans with improved toolkits) and those without these in determining the wage inequality between these categories of workers (artisans) based on a theoretical model of the trajectory along which the rural economy moves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to highlight that child labour is complementary to adult labour in the brick kiln industry. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents a case study of bonded labourers in the brick kiln industry of Southeast India. Findings - The paper finds that child labour is used by parents in the moulding process in order to avoid falling into debt bondage. In this industry, brick making is organized as a home-based enterprise. Thus, child labour increases the family productivity and consequently its income. In case of a ban on child labour bonded parents will be worse-off. NGOs can play an essential role by preventing families from falling into bondage and by improving their living standards. Originality/value - The results may help the NGOs address child labour issues in the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of this paper was twofold-revisiting the in-kind public distribution system (PDS) – India's flagship food security intervention and seeking beneficiary perspectives on its efficacy. The feasibility of cash transfers as an alternative mechanism is also examined, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: Primary and secondary data from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu were used. In-depth interviews with beneficiaries using phenomenology were conducted to evaluate their perception and willingness to shift to a cash-based PDS in the pre and post-pandemic periods. Secondary district-level data were also used to ascertain institutional preparedness for this shift. Findings: In-depth interviews of 105 beneficiaries revealed valuable insights, which seem to have significantly changed post-pandemic. Beneficiaries in the post-pandemic period seem much more inclined toward cash transfers, though a combination of cash plus in-kind benefits seems to be strongly preferred. Secondary results pointed out to the lack of institutional preparedness in financial inclusion. The research suggested that while the existing PDS needs to be overhauled, policymakers should look at a model of cash plus in-kind transfers as a probable alternative to pure cash transfers. Originality/value: There is a dearth of in-depth state-specific studies on beneficiary perception of PDS, and this is important since the economic and sociocultural milieu in each region is unique. Being the only state with universal food security, its experience could yield important insights for other states or even middle or low-income countries similar to India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the labour force participation of older persons (aged 60 and above) in India from 1983 to 2011-2012. The paper also briefly reviews the conditions of work for the elderly and examines different socio-economic and demographic factors that are associated with labour force participation of elderly in India. Design/methodology/approach – The author uses data from repeated cross-sectional rounds of Employment and Unemployment Surveys of National Sample Survey Office from 1983 to 2011-2012. The author uses probit regression model to identify the socio-economic and demographic variables that are associated with the labour participation of the elderly in India. Findings – The results show that labour force participation rate of older persons in rural India remained almost stable between 1983 and 2011-2012, despite the rapid economic growth that India experienced during the same period. Further, the results show that among the elderly, those who belong to relatively poor socio-economic status are more likely to participate in the labour force. It is observed that large percentage of the elderly workforce are engaged in poorly paid jobs in the informal sector, either as casual workers or as self-employed in low-skilled or unskilled occupations. Research limitations/implications – This paper is mostly descriptive in its analysis and it only points to the possible socio-economic and demographic determinants of elderly labour force participation in India. Originality/value – Given that the studies on employment of elderly in India are scanty, this paper provides new evidence on changes in labour force participation of elderly over last three decades. Further, this study makes an attempts to understand who among the elderly most likely to participation in labour force in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The phenomenon known as financialization of commodities, arising from the speculation in commodity derivatives market, has raised serious concerns in the recent past. This has prompted distortion in agricultural commodity prices driving them away from rational levels of supply and demand shocks. In the backdrop of financialized commodities leading to increase in price of agricultural products and their interaction with equity markets, the authors examine the investment of institutional investors in impacting the agricultural returns. The paper aims to focus on the financial mechanism that drives extreme values and the mean of agricultural returns. Design/methodology/approach: The authors employ the Threshold AutoRegressive Quantile (TQAR) methodology to find evidence of linkages between the Indian agricultural and equity markets from January 2010 to May 2020 consistent with the rise in inflows of institutional investors in agricultural markets. Findings: The results reveal that the investors impact the agricultural commodity markets strongly when the composite commodity index value (COMDEX) is low. Additionally, in the lower extreme quantiles (0.25) of agricultural returns, the integration between the equity index and agricultural returns is found to be highly significant compared to insignificant values in the higher quantiles (0.75 and 0.95) in both the regimes. The results suggest that low values of agricultural commodities are more closely linked to equity indices when composite commodity index value is low. This implies that, at the lower quantiles of COMDEX return (bad day), the investors move to the stock market. In that way, the commodity index returns are seen to be as a strong channel for the financialization of Indian agricultural commodities and suggesting potential involvement of investors during those regime. Research limitations/implications: Regulators need to anticipate the price fluctuations in spot and futures markets. Investors in commodity markets need to strengthen risk awareness to carry out portfolio strategies. Practical implications: From policy perspective, it is of pivotal importance to enhance the understanding of the financialization of agricultural products. The findings provide reference measures to stabilize the commodity markets, alleviate price distortions and carry out further evidence of price discovery and risk management in Indian commodity markets. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to highlight the potential influence of financial markets on the financialization of agricultural commodities in an emerging economy like India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose According to the 70th round of the National Sample Survey published by the Government of India in 2014, the incidence of indebtedness among households in the rural areas of Telangana state, India, is twice that of rural all-India. Around 59 per cent of rural households are indebted in Telangana as against 31 per cent all-India. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent and magnitude of indebtedness among rural households in the Medak district of Telangana state. Further, the authors wanted to identify the sources of credit to these households and for what purpose the loans were utilised.Design/methodology/approach To achieve the objective, the authors conducted a primary-level household survey in one of the distressed districts in newly formed state. The authors applied the Bayesian and the Lasso regression methods to identify the factors that impact indebtedness of a household.Findings The OLS results based on the Lasso regression results show that among all the explanatory variables, principal occupation, use of modern technology, the rate of interest, household medical expenditure and source of loan are significant, indicating that these variables significantly affect the loan taken by the farmers in the study area. The study shows that alternative sources of non-farm income and promotion of modern technology in agriculture can reduce the incidence of farmers’ indebtedness in India.Originality/value The paper contains significant information with regard to indebtedness. It focusses on the issue troubling the authorities the most. It provides the ground realities of the incidence of indebtedness in Medak, one of the most distressed districts of Telangana, a Southern Indian state. There have been very few similar studies done in the newly formed state. The paper has employed an advanced statistical technique, i.e. Heckman’s selection regression technique, to study farmers’ indebtedness in India. It provides a means of correcting for non-randomly selected samples, which otherwise can lead to erroneous conclusions and poor policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Purpose -- The four Asian tigers, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan (also called Four Dragons) experienced miraculous high growth rates in the pre-1990s period and rapidly transformed their economic status from less developed "basket cases" to developed high-income countries gaining entry to the rich OECD club of countries. These countries even in the post-1990s, barring few years, have continued to grow further and are an inspiring role model for the newly emerging economies. The purpose of this paper is to adduce certain trends in these countries since the 1990s and specifically examine role of human capital and knowledge building, productivity convergence and intra-regional trade in the Asian tigers'. The authors examine these in the context of India. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper in a simple descriptive yet analytical approach explores the relevance of above factors in the Indian context. Findings -- The study observed that India ranks far below the Asian tigers in the knowledge economy index (KEI). The results at the sub-national level showed large disparities across the states in knowledge economy reflecting country's difficulties in catching up with other countries overall. Regarding labour productivity, the results show that India was moving away from the benchmark country until 1990 ( pre-reform period) and started catching up particularly due to physical capital (not necessarily human capital) since 1995 onwards. Originality/value -- The study is unique due to several reasons. First, it contributes to the literature examining contemporaneous Asian tigers and Indian economies performance as not many studies exist in this area. Second, the study also builds a unique first ever KEI at the sub-national level for India and is, therefore, a contribution in this respect. Finally, the study also contributes to the literature on Indian economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between financial development indicators and human development in India using annual data from 1980-2012. Design/methodology/approach -- The Ng-Perron unit root test is used to check for the order of integration of the variables. The long run relationship and short run dynamics are examined by implementing the ARDL bounds testing approach to co-integration. Granger's non-causality test and variance decomposition techniques are also used to examine the impact of financial development indicators on human development. Findings -- The results confirm a long run relationship among the variables. The results of granger non causality indicate that unidirectional causality runs from financial development indicators to human development index (HDI). The variance decomposition analysis shows that among all the financial indicators, broad money supply (M3) has the largest contribution to changes in human development in India. Research limitations/implications -- The present study recommends for appropriate reforms in financial market to attain sustainable human development in India. The findings will be useful for India's policy makers, in order to maintain the parallel expansion of financial development and human development. Originality/value -- This paper is first of its kind to empirically examine the casual relationship between financial development indicators and human capital development proxied by HDI in India by using modern econometric techniques. Paper type Research paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to see whether Government of India is successful to make credit accessible to the poor; to examine the role of competition in microfinance sector in ensuring credit to the ultra poor borrowers; to see the role of subsidy in microfinance movement. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper is based on secondary data. This paper examines, in an analytical framework with a variety of assumptions, the role of microfinance institutes (MFIs) in bringing capital to the ultra poor. Findings -- In an attempt to make credit accessible to the poor, Government of India took several measures, but did not succeed to a significant extent. This paper has shown that the microcredit has become accessible to the "working poor," but not to the ultra poor. Initially the model shows that in the absence of competition MFI and moneylender are equally exploitative to the ultra poor borrowers. The model further shows that in the presence or absence of competition in the credit market, credit may be accessible to the ultra poor borrowers under certain conditions. Excessive subsidies might drive out the poor borrowers from the microfinance sector. Originality/value -- For the poor clients served by the microfinance institution, the argument goes, the access not the cost (interest rate) that matters (Robinson, 2001). Here the implicit assumption is that the interest rate elasticity of demand for micro credit is close to zero (Emran et al., 2006). In an interesting paper Deheja et al (2005) has shown that the interest rate elasticity of loan in the microfinance system is significantly negative. The author is of the opinion that this is the cost of credit as well as inability to pay a minimum price of credit, which denies the access to credit. JEL Classifications -- G21, G38, L12, L14, O18 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The paper aims to find out how far the size of household landholding directs patriarchal traits and thus influence women's autonomy. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a two-part methodology. The first part provides theoretical background based on existing literature on women's autonomy and related information in formulating the “landholding-patriarchy hypotheses”. The second part of this study evaluates the empirical evidences of the association between the size of household landholding and women's autonomy. Findings – Results indicate considerable variation in women's autonomy with the size of their household landholding: women's autonomy decreases with increasing size of household landholding. Evidence suggests that landholding directs patriarchal traits, as manifested in a reasonable influence on women's autonomy in rural India. Originality/value – The paper innovates a means to understand the contributing factors to lowering women's autonomy, thus explore the relevance of “landholding-patriarchy hypothesis”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the structure of employment in the most urbanized state in India during the period 1983-2010. The paper also analyses the determinants of growth of farm employment in urban areas in the state of Tamil Nadu.Design/methodology/approach The paper compares trends in employment in Tamil Nadu with that of the country as a whole. In order to see whether there is evidence of Lewisian labor transfer, the study examines labor transfer between sectors and percentage distribution of workers in the rural and urban areas.Findings The paper finds that employment in the entire non-agricultural sector slowed down in 2009-2010 compared to 2004-05 in Tamil Nadu. The share of employment in primary sector in urban areas increased more sharply, experiencing slow economic transformation in the post-reform years. The analysis reveals that rapid rural-urban transformation could be one reason for more people in the primary sector in urban areas.Research limitations/implications Studying the employment structure at the district level, for which analyzing the district-level data collected and published by state’s Bureau of Economics and Statistics is required, would be helpful to discern a deeper influence of urbanization on structure of employment.Practical implications The results suggest that the issue needs further examination with analysis of the district-level data. Policy reforms should, therefore, be suitably oriented toward tapping the employment potential of both unorganized and organized segments in manufacturing, trade and services sectors. It is also necessary to ensure robust economic growth that creates decent jobs for all young educated people in the state.Originality/value The study explains the domination of farm employment in urban Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu is considered to be the most urbanized state in India. The reason for an increase in the share of primary sector employment in urban areas of Tamil Nadu is due to high urbanization in the post-reform periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose In general, the return from participation in MNREGA will be highest for those women whose mobility and social interaction is least impeded by conservative social norms. However, if any intervention enhances knowledge base, or challenges traditional norms of gender, then return from that intervention may be highest for those women impede most by conservative social norms. It may be interpreted as non-monotonic effect of restrictedness across caste and religion. The purpose of this paper is to examine non-monotonicity hypothesis of social restrictedness for the intervention MNREGA.Design/methodology/approach Using primary data from three districts of West Bengal, the paper has tried to see whether there exists any non-monotonic effect of restrictedness on household’s “expenditure on consumption,” “expenditure on temptation good,” “expenditure on women’s health” and “expenditure on children’s education and health” across castes and religion. The sample is relatively homogeneous in terms of socio economic status, but differs in affiliation to castes and religion.Findings As a result of participating the labor force through MNREGA, the contribution of women to household earnings increases, which may potentially increase their bargaining power within the household. The conventional notion is that women who are least fettered by social norms should get maximum benefits of participation in MNREGA. However, the analysis shows that women of upper caste (UC) community have been able to exercise the highest level of agency in allocating household resources compared to the women of scheduled caste community. It substantiates the non-monotonicity of restrictedness of social norms across castes and religions. Agency of Muslim women has not increased significantly compared to the UC women.Research limitations/implications The study suffers from usual limitations of sampling.Originality/value There is hardly any study deciphering MNREGA from the perspective of caste, religion and gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose India is a developing nation where the marginal benefit of infrastructure development is tremendous. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between infrastructure development and poverty reduction for India using the yearly data from 1991 to 2015.Design/methodology/approach The authors use the principal component analysis to construct indices for four major sub-sectors, namely, transport, water and sanitation, telecommunications and energy, falling under the broad infrastructure sector and then using these sectorwise indices, the authors construct an overall index which represents infrastructure development. The authors provide evidence on the link between infrastructure development and poverty reduction by using the auto regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bound testing approach.Findings The ARDL test results suggest that infrastructure development and economic growth reduce poverty in both long run and short run. The causality test confirms that there is a positive and unidirectional causality running from infrastructure development to poverty reduction.Research limitations/implications The study confirms that India’s Infrastructure development plays a vital role in reducing poverty and calls for the Indian Government to adopt economic policies which are aimed at developing and strengthening the infrastructure levels and bringing in more investment in the infrastructure sector in order to help the poor population by making them exposed to better opportunities of employment and income growth, thereby achieving the goal of poverty reduction.Originality/value This paper is a fresh and unique attempt of its kind to empirically investigate the causal relationship between infrastructure development and poverty reduction in India using modern econometric techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find the determinants of participation and targeting efficiency of the following safety net programs in West Bengal: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), self-targeted program; National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), subsidy based livelihood program; Indira Awaas Yojona (IAY), targeted cash transfer program and Public Distribution System (PDS), targeted in kind transfer program.Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a household survey comprising 900 households across three Districts: Murshidabad, Nadia and Burdwan.Findings Benefits from MNREGA and PDS are not substantial, whereas financial benefits are substantial from NRLM and IAY. This paper shows that poor people have higher likelihood of participation in MNREGA and PDS. But, non poor get disproportionate benefits from IAY and NRLM both have been designed for the poor. Therefore, targeting cannot remove elite capture altogether. Socially down trodden section have higher participation in MNREGA and PDS, whereas people who are at upper tier of social hierarchy enjoy the benefits of IAY and NRLM. However, it cannot be said that these programs miss their target completely.Practical implications The study suffers from the usual limitations of sampling.Social implications Programs targeted for the poor are being appropriated by the non poor. If there is better targeting money will be channelized to the desired beneficiaries and welfare will be enhanced.Originality/value The study has unearthed the underlying reasons behind why some safety net programs have better targeting and some safety net programs have poor targeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]