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The Politics of
Social
Justice
Pratap Bhanu
Mehta,
President,
Centre for
Policy Research,
New Delhitc
"President,
Centre for
Policy Research,
New Delhi"
Abstract:
The Politics of
Social Justice
is a big
challenge of our
times. For the
first time in
our history real
social and
economic change
seems like a
possibility, and
the sheer
unleashing of
aspiration and
energy across
different
sections of
Indian society
is staggering.
But there are
some concerns
about the form
the politics of
justice will
take, even in
this newly
buoyant and
optimistic era.
The first
reflects on the
limited set of
instruments we
have that can do
full justice to
the aspiration
of social
equality and
second, on why
caste still
remains such an
entrenched
category around
which the
politics of
social justice
is constructed,
and what the
consequences of
this
entrenchment
might mean. The
present
challenge of the
politics of
social justice
must be seen
against the
backdrop of a
general, perhaps
more global and
historical,
pessimism about
the relationship
between
democracy and
equality. The
most obvious
instrument is
redistribution
through
taxation. But
there is no
serious politics
structured
around using
this instrument
for several
reasons. First,
of all countries
like India have
recent and vivid
memories of the
distorting
effects of high
taxes in the
context of low
enforcement
capacity.
Second, in the
context of
globalisation
and mobility of
capital there is
scepticism about
the efficacy of
very high tax
rates. Third,
taxes provide
redistribution,
through the
instrumentality
of the state.
The second major
instrument of
redistribution
is
collectivising
productive
assets,
particularly
industrial
capital, third
instrument is
the focus of one
particular
asset, land and
fourth
instrument for
producing some
kind of
distributive
justice is the
state itself. On
this view the
primary
mechanism
through which
redistribution
happens is not
transfer or
collectivisation
of assets, but
through the
state provision
of public goods,
particularly
health and
education.
Institutionalisation
of caste as the
basis of
equality has
some interesting
consequences.
First, it is a
form of
legitimising
class
difference.
Second, in India
there is no
serious
discourse on the
relationship
between justice
and
discrimination.
Third, because
equality can now
be claimed only
on the basis of
an immutable
identity, there
is a growing
clamour for the
state to
institutionalize
these. Fourth,
identity
politics and
other forms of
politics centred
around welfare
and justice are
often posed as
alternatives.
Poverty Induced
Forest
Degradation in
JFM Regime:
Evidence from
Orissa, India
Abstract:
Around 28% of
the total forest
area in India
has been brought
under Joint
Forest
Management (JFM)
and the
remaining 72%
has been openly
access to the
local
communities. In
such a scenario,
communities that
actively
participate in
JFM are also
engaged in the
degradation. (de
facto open
access forests
to meet their
basic livelihood
necessities).
This reveals
that the
poverty-induced
forest
degradation
still continues
under the JFM
regime. This
paper
theoretically
and empirically
explains the
factors that
determine the
individual
indulgence in
forest
degradation.
Based on a
survey of 140
households in
the three forest
fringe villages
of the Chandaka
Wildlife
Division -
Orissa, India,
the study shows
that lack of
education,
landlessness and
low
environmental
awareness
significantly
influence the
individual
involvement in
forest
degradation. The
implementation
of JFM merely
transfers the
dependence of
local community
from one patch
to another. It
shows that
unless the
source of
livelihood is
secured, forest
degradation by
rural poor
households will
persist. Halting
this depressing
scenario calls
for raising
individual
opportunity cost
through
employment
generation,
skill formation
and land
allocation to
the landless.
Keywords:
Poverty, Forest
Degradation, JFM
Situation
Assessment of
Farmers: A Study
of a Village in
West Bengal
Saumya
Chakrabarti,
Senior Lecturer
in Economics,
Department of
Economics and
Politics, Visva
Bharati
(University),
Santiniketan-731235,
West Bengal,
India
Abstract:
This paper
examines the
current economic
situation of
farmers of a
target village.
The study looks
at the asset
structure of the
villagers, their
income
structure, costs
of inputs, input
and output in
their market
structure, the
productivity of
the villagers
etc. The study
is based on the
data collected
from a primary
field survey in
a village in
Birbhum
District, West
Bengal. The
study shows that
income from
agriculture is
significantly
determined by
size of land
owned but at the
same time
productivity is
independent of
land size. We
also observe a
positive
relation between
income from non
farm, acting as
a secondary
source, and
income from
cultivation.
There is a mark
of
development-led
employment and
income
diversification.
We also observe
that
commercialization
of agriculture
has occurred but
at the same time
there exists
distress sale.
This could be an
indication of
forced commerce.
Another
important
observation is
that increasing
input costs, in
most of the
cases, has a
negative impact
on productivity,
i.e., as the
cost of input
used per hectare
increases,
productivity
declines.
Skill
Upgradation of
Rural Youth and
Employability
Potentials in
Different
Sectors in Tamil
Nadu
K.
Sivasubramaniyan,
Assistant
Professor, MIDS,
Chennai
Abstract:
In India, a
large proportion
of the
population live
in poverty due
to the low level
of skilled
persons
available in the
work force.
Skill
development
generally takes
place in an
informal way.
Mostly, persons
acquire skills
through an
informal system
due to
socio-economic
circumstances of
the family and
the compulsions
of earning a
livelihood
rather than
attending a
formal course.
Proper skill
upgradation
training not
only benefits
the work force
and allows it to
earn a decent
living, but also
contributes to
the national
economy by
better
productivity of
the workforce.
Currently, very
few
opportunities
for skill
development
exist for rural
youth,
especially for
school dropouts
and the existing
uneducated/school
educated
workers. Hence,
a new framework
for skill
development for
the informal
sector has to be
evolved to
absorb the rural
youth in
potential jobs
in the
agriculture,
industry and
service sectors.
With the help of
688 sample
households
located in 17
villages in 5
districts of
Tamil Nadu, this
paper attempts
to identify
employable rural
youth in the
three sectors,
available
employment
options to
absorb the BPL
youth, training
requirements for
skill
enhancement,
adequacy of
currently
available
training and to
suggest measures
for effective
training and
employment.
tc "Assistant
Professor, MIDS,
Chennai"
Jobless Growth
based on a
2-Digit
Industry-wise
Analysis for
Tamil Nadu : Pre
and Post Reform
Years 1984-2006
A. Balu,
Lecturer,
Department of
Economics, Vels
University,
Pallavaram,
Chennai tc
"Lecturer,
Department of
Economics, Vels
University,
Pallavaram,
Chennai "
and
B.S. Prakash,
Associate
Professor
(Economics),
School of Social
Sciences, IGNOU,
New Delhitc
"Associate
Professor
(Economics),
School of Social
Sciences, IGNOU,
New Delhi"
Abstract:
Analysing the
ASI data for the
state of Tamil
Nadu at
two-digit
industry level,
the paper finds
that despite a
relative decline
in the growth of
employment,
value added and
labour
productivity;
there is an
increase in the
employment
elasticity (EE)
during the
post-reform
years
(1994-2006).
Thus, although
the post-reform
growth in these
variables is
less than that
in the
pre-reform years
(1984-1993),
there is a
high-base effect
contributing to
an increase in
employment
generated in the
latter half of
the period under
focus. This is
reflected in the
employment
elasticity for
10 out of 14
industries,
derived by
considering the
joint impact of
both output and
capital on
employment. The
net effect is,
therefore, a
significant
increase in the
employment
content of jobs
at the ‘all
industries’
level. Capital
intensity has
not altogether
affected the
employment
creation process
to give credence
to the
hypothesis of
jobless growth
in the state.
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