Short-Term Effects of India's Employment Guarantee Program on Labor Markets and Agricultural Productivity

Nagarajan, Hari K.; Deininger, Klaus; Singh, Sudhir K.

Short-Term Effects of India's Employment Guarantee Program on Labor Markets and Agricultural Productivity

Autores

Nagarajan, Hari K.

Deininger, Klaus

Singh, Sudhir K.

Editor

World Bank, Washington, DC

Descripción

This paper uses a large national household panel from 1999/2000 and 2007/08 to analyze the short-term effects of India's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on wages, labor supply, agricultural labor use, and productivity. The scheme prompted a 10-point wage increase and higher labor supply to nonagricultural casual work and agricultural self-employment. Program-induced drops in hired labor demand were more than outweighed by more intensive use of family labor, machinery, fertilizer, and diversification to crops with higher risk-return profiles, especially by small farmers. Although the aggregate productivity effects were modest, total employment generated by the program (but not employment in irrigation-related activities) significantly increased productivity, suggesting alleviation of liquidity constraints and implicit insurance provision rather than quality of works undertaken as a main channel for program-induced productivity effects.

Palabras clave

JOBS, EMPLOYMENT, PRODUCTIVITY EFFECTS, WAGE GAP, PRODUCTION, LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE, INCOME, RURAL LABOR MARKETS, INFORMATION, LABOR FORCE, LIQUIDITY, ELASTICITY, PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, POLITICAL ECONOMY, WELFARE, JOB, AGE CATEGORIES, EFFECTS, WAGE INCREASES, PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT, VARIABLES, RURAL LABOR, INPUTS, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, PAYMENTS, PROGRAM AVAILABILITY, RURAL POOR, PRODUCTIVITY INCREASE, AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT, VALUE OF OUTPUT, WAGE GROWTH, RENTS, TRENDS, SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS, JOB SEEKERS, SMOOTHING CONSUMPTION, SMALL FARMERS, DEVELOPMENT, LABOR MARKET, RIGHT TO WORK, PER CAPITA INCOME, EMPLOYMENT LEVELS, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, WORKER, OUTPUTS, NON-FARM EMPLOYMENT, PRODUCTIVITY, EXPECTED RETURN, TRANSFERS, MARKETS, ORGANIZATIONS, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, LABOR SHORTAGES, LABOR, FARMERS, PRIMARY SCHOOL, TOTAL EMPLOYMENT, LABOUR MARKETS, PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM, WAGE INCREASE, EFFICIENCY, ECONOMIC RESEARCH, WAGE LEVELS, FEMALE LABOR, EQUITY, CONSUMPTION, PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH, HUMAN CAPITAL, EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME, WORKERS, WAGES, PRODUCTIVITY EFFECT, LABOR DEMAND, VALUE, AVERAGE WAGE, WAGE RATES, CASUAL WORKERS, WAGE DATA, FAMILY LABOR, CREDIT, DEMAND, OCCUPATION, SAFETY NET, FEMALE EMPOWERMENT, AGRICULTURE, PRODUCTIVE ASSETS, DRY SEASON, LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES, HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS, ASSETS, PUBLIC WORKS, RURAL EMPLOYMENT, DIVERSIFICATION, ECONOMICS, PRODUCTION FUNCTION, COBB-DOUGLAS PRODUCTION FUNCTION, MANAGEMENT, SALARIED EMPLOYMENT, EQUILIBRIUM WAGES, EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE, INSURANCE, CONSUMPTION SMOOTHING, GOODS, THEORY, SECURITY, GROWTH RATE, INVESTMENT, IRRIGATION, RISK, PROGRAM COST, POVERTY, FEMALE LABOR FORCE, POOR FARMERS, CRISES, SUPPLY, LABOR SUPPLY, WAGE EFFECTS, PROFIT, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, CHILD LABOR, UNSKILLED WORKERS, TOTAL OUTPUT, LABOUR, LABOR MARKETS, OUTCOMES, SAFETY, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, UNSKILLED LABOR, SELF-EMPLOYMENT, AGRICULTURAL SELF-EMPLOYMENT, PRICES, NON-FARM SECTOR, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, FUTURE RESEARCH