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Employment in India's informal sector: size, patterns, growth and determinants

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  • Indrajit Bairagya

Abstract

In a developing country like India, the formal sector is a coveted employment destination. However, in the present scenario, the formal sector is unable to absorb the entire workforce. In view of these labour demand constraints in the formal sector, this paper sets out to explore the opportunities for the promotion of informal sector employment. It measures employment trends and patterns in the informal sector in India and estimates the sector's employment determinants using a large and nationally representative sample of individual data. The estimation also tests the hypothesis that the determinants of informal sector employment vary with the states’ development levels. Our findings reveal that individuals without any general or technical education have a greater probability of entering the informal sector. As education increases, this probability decreases in all the states irrespective of their development level. In some cases, results for the underdeveloped states contrast with the developing and developed states. For instance, individuals in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category who always stay in the same employment catchment area have a greater probability of finding a job in the informal sector in the developed and developing states, while they have no exposure to finding a job in the informal sector in the underdeveloped states. Education (both general and technical) and migration are the main policy variables for the promotion of employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Indrajit Bairagya, 2012. "Employment in India's informal sector: size, patterns, growth and determinants," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 593-615.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rjapxx:v:17:y:2012:i:4:p:593-615
    DOI: 10.1080/13547860.2012.724548
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    1. Government of India Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2009. "Gendering Human Development Indices: Recasting the Gender Development Index and Gender Empowerment Measure of India," Working Papers id:2279, eSocialSciences.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rayees Ahmad Sheikh & Sarthak Gaurav, 2020. "Informal Work in India: A Tale of Two Definitions," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 1105-1127, September.
    2. Rayees Ahmad Sheikh & Sarthak Gaurav & Trupti Mishra, 2021. "Race among equals? An inquiry into the segmentation of Indian labor market," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(4), pages 2180-2206, November.
    3. Mpendulo Harold Thulare & Inocent Moyo & Sifiso Xulu, 2021. "Systematic Review of Informal Urban Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-18, October.

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