Migration and Human Development in India

Deshingkar, Priya and Akter, Shaheen (2009): Migration and Human Development in India. Published in: Human Development Research Paper (HDRP) Series , Vol. 13, No. 2009

Abstract

The paper discusses how gaps in both the data on migration and the understanding of the role of migration in livelihood strategies and economic growth in India, have led to inaccurate policy prescriptions and a lack of political commitment to improving the living and working conditions of migrants. Field evidence from major migrant employing sectors is synthesised to show that circular migration is the dominant form of economic mobility for the poor; especially the lower castes and tribes. The authors argue that the human costs of migration are high due to faulty implementation of protective legislation and loopholes in the law and not due to migration per se. The paper discusses child labour in specific migration streams in detail stressing that this issue needs to be addressed in parallel. It also highlights the non-economic drivers and outcomes of migration that need to be considered when understanding its impacts. The authors calculate that there are roughly 100 million circular migrants in India contributing 10% to the national GDP. New vulnerabilities created by the economic recession are discussed. Detailed analysis of village resurveys in Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are also presented and these show conclusively that migration is an important route out of poverty.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: India; circular migration; caste; tribe; child labour; human development
• Subjects: Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O15 - Human Resources ; Human Development ; Income Distribution ; Migration

References

AIF (2006) Locked Homes and Empty Schools. Zubaan /America India Foundation, New Delhi.

Action Aid (2008a) Bonded workers freed from Jaipur sari hellhole. Available at http://www.actionaid.org/india/index.aspx?PageID=3889

Action Aid (2008b) Just nuts: Supermarkets thrive on women cashew workers’ poverty.Available at http://www.actionaid.org/india/index.aspx?PageID=2819

ActionAid (2005) From Hunger to Suffering … a Journey: Migrant Workers in the Brick Kilns – Interventions Report. Hyderabad ActionAid.

Akter S, Farrington J, Deshingkar P, and Freeman A (2008). Livestock, Vulnerability and Poverty Dynamics in India, Discussion Paper (forthcoming). Targeting and Innovation. ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute), Nairobi, Kenya.

Balisacan, A.M. and Ducanes, G.M. (2005) Inequality in Asia: A Synthesis of Recent Research on the Levels, Trends, Effects and Determinants of Inequality in its Different Dimensions, The Inter-Regional Inequality Facility, London: Overseas Development Institute.

Baulch, B. and J. Hoddinot, 2000, ‘Economic Mobility and Poverty Dynamics in Developing Countries’, Journal of Development Studies, 36(6): 1-24.

Baulch B and McCulloch N (1998). Being Poor and Becoming Poor: Poverty Status and Poverty Transitions in Rural Pakistan, Working Paper 79, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex.

Borhade, A. (2007) Addressing the needs of seasonal migrants in Nashik, Maharashtra Disha Foundation/Population Council, New Delhi.

Breman, J. (1990) 'Even dogs are better off': The ongoing battle between capital and labour in the cane-fields of Gujarat. Journal of Peasant Studies, Volume 17, Issue 4 July, pages 546 – 608. Business maps of India. Role of Textile Industry in India GDP http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-gdp/industries/textile.html

Chen, M. 2007. Skills, Employability and Social Inclusion: Women In The Construction Industry. Harvard University, WIEGO Network.

CSE (2007) Mining: A Guide To India’s Wealth, Its Resource Curse. Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.

CUTS International (2008) Exploring the post-1990s trade-labour linkage in India. A set of case studies from West Bengal, Maharashtra and Gujarat. CUTS International, Jaipur.

GOI (2007). Poverty Estimates for 2004-05, Government of India Press Information Bureau, New Delhi.

Deb, U. K., Nageswara Rao, G.D., Mohan Rao, Y., Slater, R. (2002) Diversification and Livelihood Options: A Study of Two Villages in Andhra Pradesh, India 1975–2001 Working Paper 178 Overseas Development Institute, London.

Deshingkar, P., S. Kumar, H. Kumar Chobey and D. Kumar. (2006) The Role of Migration and Remittances in Promoting Livelihoods in Bihar. Bihar Rural Livelihoods Project (BRLP) India.

Deshingkar, P., P. Sharma, S. Kumar, S. Akter and J. Farrington (2008) Circular migration in Madhya Pradesh: Changing patterns and Social Protection Needs. The European Journal of Development Research Vol. 20, No. 4, December 2008, 612–628.

Deshpande, M. (2008) Migration dynamics in Nipani and Ichalkaranji, Karnataka. Report prepared for the International Institute for Environment and Development, Project on Migration and small town governance. Mimeo.

Deshpande, Sudha L. and L. K. Deshpande (1990), Labour mobility in Bombay’s manufacturing Sector, ILO-ARTEP Working Papers, ILO, New Delhi.

Dubey et al 2006 Surplus Labour, Social Structure and Rural to Urban Migration: Evidence from Indian Data. The European Journal of Development Research, Volume 18, Issue 1 March 2006, pages 86 – 104.

Fan, S., C. Chan-Kang, and A. Mukherjee (2005) Rural and Urban Dynamics and Poverty:Evidence from China and India FCND Discussion Paper 196. DSG Discussion Paper 23 Food Consumption And Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington D.C.

Ghate, P. 2006. Remittances by domestic migrants. The Economic Times, March 24, 2006.

Ghate, P. (2005) Serving Migrants Sustainably Remittance Services Provided by an MFI in Gujarat Economic and Political Weekly April 23, 2005. Pp 1740-1746.

Ghosh, J. (2001) “Globalisation, Export- Oriented Employment for Women and Social Policy: A Case Study of India.” Prepared for UNRISD Project on Globalization, Export-Oriented Employment for Women and Social Policy, July 2001.

ICSF/SIFFS/NFF (2004) Report from India workshop on the proposed ILO comprehensive standard on conditions of work in the fishing sector Kovalam, Trivandrum, 2-3 April 2004, International Collective In Support Of Fishworkers, National Fishermen’s Forum, South India Federation of Fishermen Societies.

ITUC (2007) Internationally Recognised Core Labour Standards In India. Report For The WTO General Council Review Of The Trade Policies Of India. International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) (Geneva, 23 and 25 May 2007.

Jagori, (2001) Migration, trafficking and sites of work: vulnerabilities and rights. A pilot study, initial findings from Rajasthan and Gujarat. New Delhi: Jagori.

Johnson C., P. Deshingkar and D. Start (2006) Does governance matter?power and politics in Gram Panchayats in Farrington et al (2006). Pp 373-394.

Kabeer Naila (2006) Social Exclusion and the MDGs: The Challenge of ‘Durable Inequalities’ in the Asian Context Parallel Group 3A: Topic Paper 4.

Kurosaki, T. Y. Sawada, A. Banerji and S.N. Mishra (2007) Rural-Urban Migration and Urban Poverty:Socio-Economic Profiles of Rickshaw Pullers and Owner-Contractors in North- East Delhi CIRJE Discussion Paper CIRJE-F-485.

Kundu, A. and N.Sarangi (2007). Migration, Employment Status and Poverty An Analysis across Urban Centres. Economic and Political Weekly January 27, 2007 pp 299-306.

Labour Bureau (2009) Report on Effect of Economic Slowdown on Employment in India (October – December 2008), Government of India, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Chandigarh.

Lahiri-Dutt K. (2006). Gendered Livelihoods in Small Mines and Quarries in India: Living on the edge. Working Paper Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, New Delhi And Australia South Asia Research Centre, Canberra.

Manor, J. (2002) Democratic Decentralisation in Two Indian States, Past and Present in The Indian Journal of Political Science. 63, pp 51-72.

McKenzie D and Sasin M J. 2007. Migration, Remittances, Poverty, and Human Capital: Conceptual and empirical challenges, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4272 (WPS4272), 16pp.

Mezzadri, A. (2008) How Globalised Production Exploits Informal-Sector Workers: Investigating the Indian Garment Sector. Development Viewpoint No 12. Department of Development Studies, SOAS.

Ministry of Labour (2008) Socio-Economic Conditions Of Women Workers In Selected Food Processing Industries Misra, N. Working Conditions in the Fish Processing Industry in India ICSF, Chennai. http://base.d-p-h.info/fr/fiches/premierdph/fiche-premierdph-5855.html

Mitra, A. (2004) Industry and Informal Sector in the Context of Globalisation. Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi University Enclave.

Mooij, J. (2002) Welfare policies and politics, A study of three government interventions in Andhra Pradesh, India. Working Paper 181, Overseas Development Institute, London.

Mosse, D., Gupta, S., Mehta, M., Shah, V. & Rees, J. (1997) Seasonal labour migration in Tribal (Bhil) Western India. KRIBP Working Paper, Centre for Development Studies University of Wales, Swansea.

Mosse, D. Gupta, S. Mehta, M. Shah, V. & Rees, J. (2002) ‘Brokered Livelihoods: Debt, Labour Migration and Development in Tribal Western India’, Journal of Development Studies 38(5), June, pp. 59–87.

Narasimham 2004 Money Talks ... and Walks, India Together. March 2004.

Nayak 1993 Determinants & Consequences of Inter-State Labour Migration from Orissa (A Case Study of Selected Villages) NCDS.

Neetha, N. (2004). Making of Female Breadwinners Migration and Social Networking of Women Domestics in Delhi. Economic and Political Weekly April 24, 2004 pp1681-1688.

NSSO. 2001. Migration in India 1999-2000, NSS 55th ROUND. Report No. 470. National Sample Survey Organisation Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Government of India September 2001.

Olsen, W. and R. V. Ramanamurthy (2000) ‘Contract Labour and Bondage in Andhra Pradesh (India)’, Journal of Social and Political Thought, Vol. 1, No. 2 June http://www.yorku.ca/jspot.

Panda, A. (2006) A report on Migration. Western Orissa Rural Livelihoods Project. Mimeo.

Pais J. (2006) Migration and Labour mobility in the Leather Accessories Manufacture in India, A Study in the Light of Economic Reforms Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID), Delhi.

Population Council. 2008. Patterns of Mobility and HIV Risk among Female Sex Workers: Andhra Pradesh. Population Council: New Delhi.

PUCL Gujarat (2007) Silicosis- A Death Trap For Agate Workers In Gujarat An Enquiry Report, People’s Union of Civil Liberties, Gujarat.

Ramachandran, S. (2007) India's diamond trade under fire. Asia Times Nov 14, 2007 http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IK14Df01.html

Ramaswamy, U. and S. Davala (2008) Women in the Indian Textile and Garment Industry Friederich Ebert Stiftung.

Rao, S. L.(2008) Migration dynamics in Tirupati and Tenali, Andhra Pradesh. Report prepared for the International Institute for Environment and Development, Project on Migration and small town governance. Mimeo.

RBI (2008) Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments. Mid-Term Review 2008-09 Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai.

Reddy, D. N. (1990) Rural Migrant Labour in Andhra Pradesh, report submitted to the National Commission on Rural Labour, Government of India.

Reddy, G. Krishna (2002) New populism and liberalisation: regime shift under Chandrababu Naidu in AP. Economic and Political Weekly. 32(9) pp 871-33.

Rogaly, B., Coppard, D., Ratique, A., Rana, K., Sengupta, A. and Biswas, J. (2002) Seasonal Migration and Welfare/Illfare in Eastern India: A Social Analysis. Journal of Development Studies 38.5: 89–114.

Saha, Asim Anjali Nag, and Pranab Kumar Nag. Occupational injury proneness in Indian women: A survey in fish processing industries J Occup Med Toxicol. 2006; 1: 23.

Sahoo, U.C. 1993. Migrant Oriya Workers and Surat Art-Silk Industry: an appraisal. Orissa Review July 1993 pp 28-30.

Samal C. K. (2006) Remittances And Sustainable Livelihoods In Semi-Arid Areas. Asia-Pacific Development Journal Vol. 13, No. 2: 73-92.

Samal, K. 1998 Some Aspects of Informal Sector Growth in Orissa. Journal of Entrepreneurship, Vol. 7, No. 1, 83-91 (1998).

Sarde, S.R. 2008. Migration in India, Trade Union Perspective in the context of neo-liberal globalisation. International metalworkers federation, New Delhi, Mimeo.

Saxena, N. C. (2007) Rural poverty reduction through centrally sponsored schemes. Indian J Med Res 126, October 2007, pp 381-389.

SCF (2005) Child Domestic Work, A violation of Human Rights. Save The Children Fund.

Shah, Alpa. (2006) The labour of love: Seasonal migration from Jharkhand to the brick kilns of other states in India. Contributions to Indian Sociology (n.s.) 40, 1 SAGE Publications New Delhi/Thousand Oaks/London

Shah Amita.and D.C. Sah 2004 Poverty among Tribals in South West Madhya Pradesh: has anything changed over time? Journal of Human Development Vol. 5, No. 2, July 2004. pp 249-263.

Srivastava, R. (2003) An overview of migration in India, its impacts and key issues. Paper prepared for the Regional Conference on Migration, Development and Pro-Poor Policy Choices in Asia. 22–24 June 2003 Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Subrahmanyam (1985) Palamur migrant labour in mica mining. PUCL Bulletin, Special Article, April 1985.

Sundari, S. (2005) Migration as a Livelihood Strategy: A Gender Perspective. Economic and Political Weekly May 28-June 4: 2295-2303.

Sundaram, K. (2008) Employment, Wages and Poverty in the Organized and the Unorganized Segments of the Non-Agricultural Sector in India: All-India, 2000-2005. Working Paper No. 165 Centre for Development Economics. Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics.

Suri, K.C. (2002) Democratic Process and electoral politics in Andhra Pradesh, India, Working Paper 181 ODI.

Thorat S. and M. Mahamallik (2005). Persistent Poverty – Why Do Scheduled Castes And Scheduled Tribes Stay Chronically Poor Indian Institute Of Public Administration, New Delhi/ Chronic Poverty Research Centre. Tiwari Rajnarayan R.Child labour in footwear industry: Possible occupational health hazards Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 9, No. 1, January-April, 2005, pp. 7-9.

UNDP (2007) Journey to Safety Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Reducing HIV and other Vulnerabilities of Migrants, their Families and Communities. United Nations Development Program, New Delhi.

UNDP-TAHA (2007) Settled to Move, UNDP New Delhi.

Unni, J. (2006) Informal Employment: Estimating Home-based and Street-based Workers in India, Paper No 3.National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector, New Delhi.

Unni, J. and N. Bali (2001). Subcontracted Women Workers in the Garment Industry in India Gujarat Institute of Development Research, Ahmedabad.

Venkateswarlu D. (2004) Child Labour In Hybrid Cottonseed Production In Gujarat And Karnataka http://www.indianet.nl/Guj-Karn_cottonseed.doc Virgo, K. R. Yadav, Y. Kanugo & R. Bond 2003 Agriculture or livelihoods? Experiences of practitioners and beneficiaries of the DFID-funded Western India Rainfed Farming Project. Paper presented at Tropical Agriculture Association Seminar, University of Bath, 3 July. Unattributed and undated. Surveys on Informal Sector: Objectives, Method of Data Collection, Adequacy of the Procedure and Survey Findings. Available at http://www.wiego.org/program_areas/statistics/SANTIAGO%20PAPER.doc