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The workfare scheme, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), and the direct food subsidy programme, the Targeted Public Distribution Scheme (TPDS), represent two social safety nets instituted in India as anti-poverty measures. This paper examines whether from the point of view of individual households the two programmes are substitutes or complements, as this will shed light on the appropriateness of the design of the two programmes. Based on primary household data collected for the Indian states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (MP), we show that, in Rajasthan, a large percentage of households consider TPDS and NREGS programmes to be substitutes for each other, while in MP the households often perceive the two programmes as complements. Thus it appears that the two programmes are better designed in MP since an incentive for participation in one programme has desirable side effects on participation in the other. Correlates of participation in the two states are identified and the paper advances several policy conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Resurveys in six villages in Madhya Pradesh show that contrary to mainstream perceptions, seasonal/circular migration has become more accumulative for the poor over the last five years as new opportunities in urban areas have reduced the uncertainty of finding work, wages have increased and the dependence on contractors has declined. Furthermore, migration is attracting more women and upper castes as traditional restrictions related to manual work break down. Migration has brought greater returns to those with skills or strong social networks. Others, relying on contractors or facing discrimination, have not benefited as much. Nevertheless, migration is viewed by the poor as a strategy for improving household well-being. Migration has reduced borrowing for consumption, improved debt repayment capacity and given migrants greater confidence and bargaining power. The paper concludes that policy should shift towards migrant support away from migration prevention. NGO initiatives that offer lessons for migrant support are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the many indicators of child welfare, rates of child and infant mortality and the prevalance of child labour are especially important, particularly in the context of developing countries. This paper estimates and simulates a model of child welfare based on recently released data for the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The results show that some policies, like raising female literacy rates or reducing inequality in land holdings, could have unexpected effects, while the effects of other policies, like reducing poverty or improving infrastructure, are more predictable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]