Tertiarisation of the Indian labour market: a new growth engine or sending distress signals?

Mukherjee, Dipa and Majumder, Rajarshi (2008): Tertiarisation of the Indian labour market: a new growth engine or sending distress signals? Published in: Journal of the Asia pacific Economy , Vol. 13, No. 4 : pp. 387-413.

Abstract

Tertiarisation of labour market has globally been associated with economic progress. But in developing countries, labour market deformities may push people into service economy out of distress also. This paper examines the tertiarisation process in Indian labour market to bring out the reasons behind such trends and the likely impact of such movements. It is observed that the employment growth in the tertiary sector had been dynamic and growth-induced during the eighties, but in the recent times has turned distress-driven. Sub-sectors within the tertiary sector are behaving differently indicating the heterogeneity of this sector. Policymakers should note these issues and take appropriate steps not only to boost high-end jobs but also to improve productivity and returns in low-end jobs. Then only tertiary sector revolution in India will be beneficial to the workers en masse and be sustainable.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Tertiary sector; labour; sectoral transformation; inequality; India
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J6 - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers > J62 - Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility; E - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics > E2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy > E24 - Employment ; Unemployment ; Wages ; Intergenerational Income Distribution ; Aggregate Human Capital ; Aggregate Labor Productivity; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J21 - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J24 - Human Capital ; Skills ; Occupational Choice ; Labor Productivity; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O14 - Industrialization ; Manufacturing and Service Industries ; Choice of Technology

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