Special Centennial Issue

No. 402

January 2021

Vol. CI

ISSN: 0019-5170

Contents
 
 

Shaping Up the SDG Goals in Delhi: Role of Effective Governance


Anuja Sharma1
A. M. Jose2
 

Right now, when the pandemic (COVID-19) has made ruin on the planet, there is a dire need to pursue better medical care administrations and metropolitan framework to offer help to the people specially the ones who are living in vulnerable conditions. In this context, it is all the more important for governance structures to take into consideration the functional realities of metropolitan areas. The establishment of adequate administrative structures can yield better results in most of the dimensions that make cities work well. If cities are to be successful, a multitude of factors must be combined. It is generally acknowledged that the accomplishment of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relies upon powerful administration plans at both local and centre level. The tremendous and complex administration challenges presented by sustainability, and thus, the structures proposed in this strategy set out monetary, social, and political changes. This paper examines the governance pattern followed in Delhi along with its role in achievement of SDG goals specially the goal-11 which is to make sustainable cities and communities. The secondary data sources such as Govt. websites, relevant papers and international websites has been used to make the analytical analysis. The results highlighted the gap in governance executions and planning along with simultaneous power sharing conflicts and was recommended to work towards the collusive governance structure with more focussed and mutual approach to attain the desired goals.

Keywords: Pandemic, Administration, Metropolitan, Vulnerable, Governance, Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability, Sustainable cities and communities.

  1. Research Scholar, Amity University, Haryana. E-mail: anuja01431989@gmail.com
  2. Professor, Amity School of Economics, amity University, Haryana. E-mail: amjose@ggu.amity.edu
 
 

Who Participated in MGNREGA Work: A Case Study of Andhra Pradesh

Pesala Peter1

 

The main in tention of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme is to provide 100 daysof rural manual labour work for its beneficiaries. MGNREGA is one of the biggest poverty alleviation programmes in India. Through this programme, many people are able to improve their purchasing power parity (PPP). The government is providing employment to people of all social groups in general and SCs, STs and women in particular. This study of the functioning of the scheme in Andhra Pradesh used secondary data and information collected from the MGNREGA website and other sources. For analysis purpose,it used the Annual Average Growth Rate (AAGR) and percentage method. The study period is from 2014-15 to 2020. The major findings of the study are: Firstly, for participation in MGNREGA labour work, a job card is required. The average total person days generated significant growth in Andhra Pradesh. Among the districts in Andhra Pradesh, the highest number of person days were generated in West Godavari district. The growth rate for SCs and OCs and the total was more or less equal, but for STs and women it was a bit lower. The families who completed 100 days indicate that most of the time they were engaged in MGNREGA work. The ST families who completed 100 days gradually increased the person days from year to year and the SC families did more MGNREGA labour work. People from all social groups participated in it, but the participation rate was more in SCs.

Key Words: Participation of MGNREGA, Andhra Pradesh.

  1. Consultant in ADRT Centre, Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Nagarabhavi, Bengaluru- 560072, E-mail: drpesalapeter@gmail.com
 
 

Identifying Location Specific Indicators to Measure Food Security: A Qualitative and Quantitative Approach

Noria Farooqui1
Naushadul Haq Mullick2
Akram A. Khan3

 

India fell from 55 in 2015 to 102nd rank in 2019 on Global Hunger Index, an index of 117 countries. This has put a major jolt on the development plans of the country. Food security has always been a major indicator of poverty and economic development. What are the challenges that are still faced by developing countries? Are these developing countries lagging behind in the much-needed targeted programs to remove hunger? How should the food security be measured in such countries? The paper discusses the importance of location specific indicators in identifying the food insecure. Factory and non-factory workers along with migrants and non-migrants are such location specific indicators. A mixed method survey for measuring food security is being conducted with the help of Indices of Coping Strategies. It is with the help of such local indicators much can be achieved at local level which may have global impact. It was found that non-factory workers and migrants conditions were on higher side of frequency and severity of coping strategies. It was also found that the factory workers had to undergo hardships such as health hazards and children under 14 years of age illegally working in those factories etc. This survey has been conducted to develop a cse in an urban slum named Shah Jamal located in Aligarh city of Uttar Pradesh which is one of the largest states in India. It draws lt of significance as the study can be potentially generalized and can be widely adopted in many states to understand the role it plays in the economic development of the country.

Keywords : Food security, Location specific Indicators, Households Coping Strategies, Qualitative Indicators and Quantitative Indicators.
  1. Assistant Professor, Department of Management and Business Studies, School of Management and Business studies, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi-110062, E-mail: nfarooqui@jamiahamdard.ac.in
  2. Professor, Centre for Management Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110024
  3. Professor, Dept of Agri Business Management, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202001
 
 

What promotes happiness of Indians? Empirical Evidence from World Values Survey

P. Azad1
M.A. Lagesh2
P.K. Sujathan3
K. Maya 4


This study is an attempt to identify factors driving happiness of the Indians. The data used is a survey data retrieved from the World Values Survey Association (2014) database. The present study is based on a sample of 1682 respondents from across the geography of India. The dependent variable used in this study i.e. happiness is an ordinal variable and the independent variables are the self-rated socio-economic and demographic features of the households. The ordered probit regression analysis is performed to test the hypothesis. The empirical analysis revealed that self-rated socio-economic indicators such as income status, health, education, crime history, worries about loss of job are the important determinants of the happiness of the Indian population. The result implies that to have a happy, healthy and productive labour force, India needs to focus more on further improving the health facilities, education system, creating jobs and controlling crime rate.

Key words : life-satisfaction, socio-economic attribute, world values Survey, ordered Probit, India.

JEL Classification: D6, I3, O1

  1. Assistant Professor in Economics, M.E.S Kalladi College, Mannarkkad, Palakkad District Kerala, India-678 583. Email: azad4bin@gmail.com
  2. Assistant Professor in Economics, ICFAI Business School (IBS), Hyderabad. Email: lagesheco@ibsindia.org
  3. Assistant Professor in Economics, Government Victoria College, Palakkad (Dt), Kerala. Email: idofsujathanpk@gmail.com
  4. Assistant Professor in Economics, Malabar Christian College, Calicut, Kerala, India. Email: mayaknair89@gmail.com
 
 

Determinants of Sales Turnover of Unorganised Enterprises in Selected Urban Places of Assam

Biman Kumar Nath1

Unorgainsed enterprises in India have been playing a vital role both in terms of employment and income generation. They are hence not considered as residual rather as primary enterprises in the country like India. But, the managers and workers engaged in those enterprises have little division of labour, low level of organisation and outside the purview of official statistics in most of the urban area of the Country. The present research has been conducted in two growing towns of Assam namely Guwahati and Tezpur. Guwahati is the capital city of Assam having noticeable presence of unorganised enterprises. On the other hand, Tezpur town is located in the middle of Assam which connects most of the nearby states as well as growing at a rapid pace in last few decades of urbanisation process. A pre tested schedule was canvassed among 200 unorganised enterprises comprising household and non household enterprises in both the towns to understand the determinants of sales turnover of the sample enterprises. It is found that sample UIS units are positively and significantly affected by work experience, financial accessibility and distance from the market centre. Under such circumstances, it is the high time for the state of Assam to enforce financial access, skill training and enlargement of urban areas for a sustainable future of income generation in the sector.

Keywords- Sales turnover, Determinants, Unorganised enterprises, urban areas.

  1. Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankaradeva Viswavidyalaya, Kalongpar, Nagaon (Assam), India, Pin: 782001. Email: nathbiman2012@gmail.com
 
 

Regional disparities and Economic Policies in Kerala:
Place-based or People-centred?

Annmary Jose 1


It has been acknowledged that the north-south divide in Kerala has been reduced significantly post-independence. The reduction in regional disparities is typically attributed to developments in the social sector. However, there is considerable difference existing between Malabar and Travancore-Cochin in terms of living standards and key infrastructural facilities. The people-centric-policies coupled with decentralization effectively reduced the outcome disparity, while the Malabar region still lagged behind the Travancore-Cochin region on key inputs.

Keywords: Regional disparities, Malabar, Travancore-Cochin, Consumption inequality, infrastructure disparity, people-centred policies.

  1. Institute for Financial Management and Research, TTK Road, Alwarpet, Chennai, 600018. Email: annmaryjs39@gmail.com
 
 

Determinants of Child Mortality in Rural Community in Uttar Pradesh: Evidences from the Field

Roli Misra1
Ravi Kumar2
Shivani Tewari3


The present paper aims to investigate the determinants of child mortality in rural area of four districts of Uttar Pradesh. This study is based on mixed methods and the tools of analysis are qualitative based on structured interview schedule, case studies as well as quantitative analysis assessed through logistic regression technique. The total sample size of the study is 320 households. The results indicate that determinants affecting child mortality that have emerged from the analysis in rural areas are mothers age at the time of first birth of child, mother's education and type of delivery. The paper concludes with policy suggestions and serious government interventions to improve the status of maternal health and effectively reducing child mortality in the country in general and in the state of Uttar Pradesh in particular.

Keywords: Child mortality, Uttar Pradesh, Mothers Age, Education, Son Preference.

  1. Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Lucknow, Lucknow. Email: roli219@gmail.com
  2. Research Officer, Dept of Economics, University of Lucknow, Lucknow. Email: ravi.05pandit@gmail.com
  3. Field Investigator, Dept of Economics, University of Lucknow, Lucknow. Email: shivani281092@gmail.com
 
 

The Willingness to Pay for Improving Drinking Water Supply in Tamil Nadu: A Case Study of Tannery Water Pollution in Vellore District

A. Xavier Susairaj 1 A. Premkumar** 2


Tannery pollution and the resulting health impacts are a worldwide problem. Due to the cheap labour availability and tax pollution regulation leather tanning has become a popular export earning industry in countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Given its huge potential for export earnings and local economic livelihood especially for poor households, its adverse health impacts seem to have been ignored. Also thus far there has been no systematic economic valuation study in India. This also attempts to estimate the health cost of this industry to people including those very households that have made leather tanning their livelihood. Therefore, the present research study aims to examine economic valuation of human health impact of the pollution from the tannery industry in Vellore district, using the Willingness to Pay method. Vellore district in Tamil Nadu state of India is purposively selected because of its larger number of tanneries.

Keywords: Tannery water pollution, Willingness to Pay, Leather, Tanning, Health.

  1. Fulbright Scholar- USA, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Economics, Sacred Heart College (Autonomous), Tirupattur- 635 601, Tamil Nadu. E-mail: floraxavier@rediffmail.com
  2. Research Scholar, Department of Economics, Sacred Heart College (Autonomous), Tirupattur- 635 601, Tamil Nadu. E-mail: premkumar1074@gmail.com
 
 

Chinese Management Style: A Paradigm Shift for African Economies

Banwo Adetoro Olaniyi1


Chinese management style is embedded in its cultural dimensions which has arisen due to its Confucian history and tradition. Chinese management style might have its inherent shortcomings but over the years it has projected China into the League of Nations which has challenged the dominance of western practices and ideologies. This study examines the attributes and qualities of Chinese management styles or approaches. Data for this work was obtained through purposive sampling and typical case sampling of secondary literature and sources. Chinese management style that conforms to the needs of Chinese enterprises and which comes directly from its management practice was investigated. This study investigates Chinese management style based on the Confucian values that has been the bedrock of its culture. Descriptive theories formed the theoretical framework for this study. This work identifies that there are specific dominant factors such as guanxi interpersonal relationship and mianzi giving face that play a significant role in Chinese businesses. This study suggests that for us to comprehend Chinese management style, we must adopt a historical and naturalistic paradigm into its study. It concludes that Chinese management style has engineered Chinese development and rise in the 21st century. It also suggests that African nations should study, investigate, scrutinize and appraise Chinese management style as a paradigm for its own growth and progress.

Keywords: Chinese Management, style, practice, tradition and paradigm.

  1. Department of Linguistics, African and Asian Studies, University of Lagos, Akoka- Yaba- Lagos, E-mail: banwotoro@gmail.com
 
 

Gendered Impact of the Pandemic: A Study on the Domestic Workload of Working Women

S. Malini1
Aishwarya, K. S.2


Considering the Covid-19 global health pandemic, this paper aims to examine the socio -economic issues faced by working women in Chennai city. Primary data was collected through the circulation of questionnaires in digital platforms and tele interviews. The sample size of the study was 50 respondents from Chennai City. The data was analysed using MS- EXCEL and SPSS software. The formulated hypothesis is tested using the Chi-square test. The paper analysed the economic and mental health status of working women. The study also traces the domestic burden and changes in the work-life balance of working women due to COVID 19 lockdown.

Keywords: Pandemic, Lockdown, Socio-Economic issues, Working Women, Labour Force Participation, Economic status, Domestic Burden, Work Life Balance, Mental health.

  1. Associate Professor, Postgraduate and Research Department of Economics, Ethiraj College for Women Chennai-600 008. E-mail id : malini.harin@gmail.com
  2. UG Student, Postgraduate and Research Department of Economics, Ethiraj College for Women Chennai-600 008. E-mail id : aishu2692000@gmail.com
 
 

Pandemics and Seasons: An Empirical Study of the Indian Residential Real Estate

Deepak Sehgal1
Svetlana Sehgal2
Muskan Poddar3


The Real Estate industry is representative of the common investors sentiment and has a high degree of socio-economic implications for a countrys population as well. In India, the real estate sector is expected to reach a market size of US$ 1 trillion by 2030 from US$ 120 billion in 2017 and contribute 13% to the countrys GDP by 2025 (IBEF, 2021). Pricing of real estate, especially residential dwellings has always experienced varying ups and downs dictated by the volatile consumer spending in India. This paper attempts to study the determinants of Real Residential Pricing such as Interest Rates, Inflation and GDP and also seasonality in the Indian real estate market. We will further investigate the impact of Covid-19 on the market and study its reasons along with what history has to offer in the same regard. Using a Newey-West OLS estimation in R and use of dummy variables, we find that the second quarter significantly outperforms the fourth quarter in terms of Residential Prices and Pandemics, including Covid-19 and also others historically, have always had a negative impact on the pricing of residential dwellings.

Keywords: Real estate, residential pricing, pandemics, seasonality.
JEL CODES: E31, E32

  1. Associate Professor, Deen Dayal Upadhyay College, University of Delhi. E-mail: rxfinanzlab@gmail.com
  2. Student, B.A. Economics Hons., Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi. E-mail: svet.seh2@gmail.com
  3. Student, B.A. Economics Hons., Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi. E-mail: muskanpoddar1299@gmail.com