Presenters
Singh Gurpreet - Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, IndiaSharma Nivedita - Jindal Global Business School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, India
Panel
98 – Land, Labour and Capital: Exploring the Contemporary Agrarian Question in South AsiaAbstract
The study of rural employment dynamics in the surveyed villages of Bihar—Bharri and Nadwan—offers a nuanced understanding of the interplay between economic growth, structural transformation, and labour mobility in a state marked by stark socio-economic disparities. Despite Bihar’s commendable economic growth over the past two decades, the findings reveal that this growth has not been accompanied by commensurate employment opportunities or a sustained structural transformation. Instead, a significant proportion of the workforce remains tethered to low-paying, insecure, and irregular jobs, whether in agriculture or the non-farm sector. Using field survey data from 200 rural households, this paper identifies key factors influencing RNFE growth and access. The evidence from field survey underscores the critical role of non-farm self-employment in diversifying income sources and providing employment, particularly in the absence of robust wage labour markets. However, the predominance of small-scale enterprises with limited capital and the prevalence of income inequality—both inter- and intra-source—highlight the fragility of this transition
