The evolution of India's industrial labour share and its correlates

Dimensions

Jayadev, Arjun and Narayan, Amay (2020) The evolution of India's industrial labour share and its correlates. Development and Change, 51 (4). pp. 998-1017. ISSN 0012-155X

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

ABSTRACT There has been substantial recent interest in the decline of labour shares across many countries. For the most part, attention has been focused on developed countries. This article examines the evolution of India's labour share in its formal industrial sector from 1983 to 2016. Using two datasets corresponding to sectoral aggregate data and plant‐level data respectively, the authors document a secular decline in the labour share across all sectors from 1983, with a stabilization at very low levels (around 8 to 10 per cent) starting around 2007. The plant‐level data are used to identify correlates that illuminate reasons for the overall decline in the labour share. The authors find strong evidence to support multiple causes, including increased capital intensity, greater informalization, greater privatization, and productivity increases in larger firms; they therefore suggest that the declines in labour share experienced are due to a composite set of factors. Conversely, other potential explanations (such as regional variation in the labour share) have less explanatory power.

Item Type:	Article
Authors:	Jayadev, Arjun and Narayan, Amay
Document Language:	Language English
Subjects:	Social sciences > Economics > Labor economics > Labor force and market Social sciences > Economics > Macroeconomics & related topics Social sciences > Economics > Macroeconomics & related topics > Factors affecting income and wealth
Divisions:	Azim Premji University - Bengaluru > University Publications > Centre for the Study of the Indian Economy (CSIE)
Full Text Status:	None
URI:	http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/7177
Publisher URL:	https://doi.org/10.1111/dech.12587

Actions (login required)

View Item

PlumX Metrics