SOIL Report 2011 - ACCESS Development Services

Livelihoods of the PoorIt is now commonly accepted that contraryto expectations the growth experienced bythe economy since liberalization has neitheraltered the structure of the economy, norincreased the growth rate of employment.The growth in the economy has been capitalintensive and skill intensive; the few ‘good’jobs generated required a high level of educationand/or skill, while the vast majority ofpeople have been absorbed into low-qualityjobs in the informal sector.The working poor and the poor aredeeply affected by the Indian state’s moveto liberalization–globalization. The poorexperience the slowdown in growth, unevengrowth across sectors, changes in the availabilityof jobs, credit, agricultural inputs,and displacement from land due to largescalepower and infrastructure projects;the loss of workers’ rights in the SpecialEconomic Zones (SEZs); and the benefitsfrom the government’s health, employment,education and food security initiatives. Inthe preceding three years, due to the slowdownin the global economy, the poor haveexperienced the consequences of living in aglobal economy even more acutely.This chapter will explore the impact ofsome of the changes in the economy, and thegovernment’s macroeconomic policies forgrowth and welfare for employment, healthand food security of the poor. Then a briefoverview of the framework of livelihoodsanchors the ensuing sections. This is followedby two sections devoted to discussionon employment. First is a general sectionwhich looks at employment growth, statusand sectoral and wage shifts (Section 2.2);then a section which addresses two groupsin particular—women and youth—andshifts in their labour-market participation(Section 2.3). The subsequent sections focuson the impact of global slowdown (Section2.4), food inflation and hunger on the poor(Section 2.5) and a final section on health(Section 2.6), before conclusions.2.1. UnderstandinglivelihoodsLivelihood status of a poor household is theoutcome of judicious use of capacities—inthe face of exposure to risks; of materialresources—monetary and non-monetary;of expenditures—for health, educationand social security and so on; and strategyadopted to ensure the sustenance of householdmembers. Income of poor householdsis dependent on the terms on which they cantrade their labour and assets in the market,and on returns from the marginal meansof production, such as, land, livestock (orsmall animals) and technology. It will alsodepend on what can be derived from commonproperty resources, including fish andforest produce. Labour may be exchangedas wage labour (regular or casual), contractuallabour, salaried employment orself-employment. Poor also earn someincome from government transfers andChapter2