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Occupational Sex
Segregation in
the Unorganised
Manufacturing
Sector: The Case
of Punjab
Anupama,
Professor,
Punjabi
University
Regional Centre,
Bathinda, Punjab
Abstract
This paper shows
that a high
percentage of
women workers
are being
employed in the
least-paid
occupations in
the unorganised
manufacturing
sector of
Punjab. Among
the covariates,
it is found that
economic
development in
each district
(represented by
the income
index) and the
literacy rate
have a weak
impact on
segregation.
Moreover, an
increase in the
value of these
variables
increases the
segregation. The
important point
to note is that
only a decline
in disparities
between males
and females in
attainment of
education, life
expectancy and
income can
reduce
segregation and
improve the
social status of
women. A lower
value of
occupational sex
segregation may
raise the sex
ratio (in rural
areas), which
has hitherto
been a blot on
Punjab society.
The implication
of these results
is that neither
increase in
average income
nor increase in
average literacy
rate leads to
equal
opportunities of
employment for
women. On the
other hand, the
decline in
disparities
between men and
women with
respect to the
above-mentioned
indices (an
increase in the
value of the
Gender
Development
Index) can lead
to a more
integrated
labour market,
and of course,
only equality in
employment can
lead to women’s
empowerment.
Poverty of
Housing in Rural
India: Status,
Issues and
Policy Options
M. Mahadeva,
Associate
Professor, ADRT
Centre,
Institute for
Social and
Economic Change
(ISEC),
Bangalore 560072
Abstract
Despite forming
the major part
of the housing
problem in
India, rural
areas have not
received due
attention in
policy-making
and public
expenditure on
housing. The
approach to
housing
development in
rural areas is
distinctive in
that the market
plays almost no
role and its
stakeholders
stand to gain
less. Besides
this, the
approach has a
series of
lacunae
pertaining to
the very norms
of public
housing
interventions,
especially with
regard to
missing
emphasis,
per-unit cost
structure, lack
of integrated
strategy, lack
of priority for
families
suffering from
widespread
damages and so
on. This paper
suggests a new
approach to
housing
development for
rural India with
new requirements
for investment
by governments
formulated on
the basis of
average unit
costs. It also
analyses the
role of the
market and
stakeholders.
The paper offers
some
alternatives for
policy-making
concerning rural
housing
development, in
general, and
stepping-up of
public
expenditure,
expansion of the
housing finance
market to rural
areas and
participation of
stake holders
through
self-help
groups, in
particular.
Super-Cyclone
Affected Coastal
Orissa: A Social
Vulnerability
Approach
Pradeep Kumar
Parida,
Faculty Member,
Department of
Sociology,
Pondicherry
(Central)
University,
Puducherry 605
014
Abstract
While an event
like a
super-cyclone in
coastal Orissa
may trigger-off
or catalyse a
disaster, the
roots of
disaster lie in
the
society-induced
vulnerability
associated with
the
geo-political
features of the
places and
people
concerned. This
study reveals
the fact that
disaster is a
result of ‘human
conditions’. It
also emphasises
how the
organisation of
a society and
its economic and
political
arrangements
contribute to
increasing its
vulnerability to
disasters. The
super-cyclone
disaster brought
to the fore
critical issues
related to
stratification,
poverty and
inequality in
Indian society,
particularly, in
rural Orissa.tc
"Faculty Member,
Department of
Sociology,
Pondicherry
(Central)
University,
Puducherry,
India, 605 014"
Willingness to
Pay for
Improvements in
Irrigation
Water:
Malaprabha
Basin,
Karnataka, India
Durba Biswas,
Research
Scholar,
Institute for
Social and
Economic Change,
Bangalore 560072
Abstract
The agriculture
sector, being
the largest user
of water, needs
to use scarce
water
efficiently;
this requires
economic
valuation of the
‘non-marketed’
irrigation
water. Any water
allocation
decision based
on the current
methods of
valuation which
depend mainly on
the cost of
water supply
becomes
ineffective in
achieving the
objective of
efficient and
sustainable use
of water in the
long run. As an
attempt to
estimate the
true opportunity
cost of water
use, a
contingent
valuation (CV)
study was
conducted to
estimate the
economic value
of irrigation
water in the
canal systems of
Malaprabha Basin
in Karnataka.
The results
suggest that the
farmers were
willing to pay
much higher than
the current
water rates if
the reliable
irrigation water
is assured. The
results also
imply that the
CV method can be
used effectively
to elicit
economic value
of irrigation
water especially
in the
developing
country context.
Relevance of
Fair Trade and
Sustainability
of Small Tea
Growers in the
Nilgiris
Abdul Hannan,
Post-Doctoral
Fellow, Centre
for the Study of
Regional
Development,
School of Social
Sciences, JNU,
New Delhi
Abstract
This study tries
to explore and
analyse the
deteriorating
conditions of
Small Tea
Growers (STGs)
in the Nilgiris.
In this paper,
various
contemporary
issues
encountered by
STGs in the
Nilgiris
vis-à-vis other
regions of India
have been
highlighted. The
nature of
institutional or
business
linkages,
particularly
with reference
to the
Industrial
Co-operative (INDCO)
factories is
addressed. A
study of the
cost of
production and
the factors
affecting it,
exemplified by
citing cases
from The
Salisbury
Industrial
Co-operative Tea
Factory Limited,
Gudalur and
INDCOSERVE, The
Tamil Nadu Small
Tea Growers’
Industrial
Co-operative
Factories’
Federation
Limited, are
highlighted,
followed by a
section on
Issues Related
to Fair Price of
Green Leaf. The
issue of
organising STGs
into Tea
Producing
Societies (Self
Help Groups) and
grass-root level
institution
building is seen
as an imperative
and a
necessity.
Finally, the
author observes
the possibility
and argues in
favour of
introducing the
practice of Fair
Trade in the
Nilgiris. Two
types of Fair
Trade business
models may be
viewed in
future: the
INDCO-STGs
business
development
model and the
Bought-Leaf
Factories (BLFs)-Tea
Producing
Societies (Self
Help Groups)
business
development
model. A healthy
competition
between the two
would address
the problem of
market access of
STGs in the era
of globalisation.
Book
Reviews
Santosh Mehrotra
The Economics of
Elementary
Education in
India:
The Challenges
of Public
Finance and
Household Costs
by Sailabala
Debi
C. H.
Hanumantha Rao
Agriculture,
Food Security,
Poverty and
Environment:
Essays on Post
–Reform India
by V.
Chandrasekara
Naidu
K.N. Nair,
Antonyto Paul
and Vineetha
Menon
Water
Insecurity,
Institutions and
Livelihood
Dynamics,
a Study in
Plachimada,
Kerala, India
by
K.
Sivasubramaniyan
M.Monto,
L.S.Ganesh
and Koshy
Varghese
Sustainability
and Human
Settlements:
Fundamental
Issues,
Modeling and
Simulations
by S. Vanathy
K.K Subrahmanian
The Handicrafts
Industry in
Kerala:
Blending
Heritage with
Economics
by Sumalatha
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