economic policy & Labour

FDI Inflows: Employment and Technology Diffusion

A SIGNIFICANT change in the composition of global trade and investment perhaps marks the process of current phase of globalisation. Two decades before, north-north trade was around 60 per cent of the global trade, north-south trade accounted around 30 per cent and south-south trade was roughly 10 per cent of global trade, which is now almost equally distributed between these three directions of trade.

New Technology and Unemployment

THE use of new technology has triggered an anxiety of job loss across the world. In advanced countries repetitive jobs at the middle levels are increasingly being replaced by use of intelligent machines empowered by artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IOT). An array of new technologies seems to be inaugurating a technology revolution with the use of AI, IOT, big data, block chain, 5G, 3D printing, robotics, drones, gene editing, nanotechnology and solar photovoltaic.

Youth Unemployment and Growing NEET Segment

HIGH unemployment rates among youth in the past three decades have been a major concern in India’s labour market. Although unemployment rate among youth has increased during the pandemic and the rate of absorption during recovery continues to be low compared to other age groups, but it is not only related to the pandemic. In fact, for the age group 15-24, the ratio of employed people within the age group was quite high in the nineties which declined in the first two decades of the new millennium and stands at 23.2 per cent in 2020.

Food Inflation: Is It Only About Weather?

ONCE again, working people feel the heat of rise in vegetable, rice and pulses price and an increase in CPI general index in June 2023. The inflation rate is a general increase in prices, moderated since November 2022 after long episodes of high inflation. As we know that core inflation which excludes commodities such as food, fuel and light, that generally show high fluctuations in prices, remained stable after falling sharply in April-May 2023.

Consumption Growth Slows but Corporates Bag High Profits

THE recent press release by the National Statistical Office on the provisional estimates of National Income quarterly estimates for the fourth quarter (January to March) together with the provisional estimates for the year 2022-23 deserves attention. It provides estimates for GDP and related figures of 2022-23 in current and constant 2011-12 prices with the corresponding figures of 2020-21 (2nd Revised estimates) and of 2021-22 (1st Revised Estimates).The crucial headlines of the statistics from the recent press release are the following.

Flexibilisation of Production and Resistance

INDUSTRIAL structure is undergoing change across the world with the rise of local and international networks of production. The Fordist regime of vertically integrated production organisation is gradually being replaced by modularised horizontal and diagonal networks coordinated often by MNCs or TNCs and spread across the globe. The essential difference between the two regimes is the element of flexibility that redefines the nature of contract both between capital and capital and capital and labour.

Financialisation and Slow Growth in Private Investment

SINCE the global financial crisis, investment growth has not recovered to its pre-crisis level worldwide. India despite being a fast growing economy, the growth in gross fixed capital formation shows a declining trend in the past two decades. In the post-crisis period, the governments introduced various institutional reforms in the rubric of ‘ease of doing business’, also corporates could have greater access to finance and external borrowings and public investment was geared to crowd in private corporate investment.

Let’s Not Misread Recent Fall in Inflation

THIS is indeed good news that the combined general consumer price index (CPI) declined for the fourth consecutive month from January 2023 to April 2023. In rural areas the successive decline in inflation as per the general CPI is also recorded for the past four months and in case of urban areas, the decline in inflation is for the third consecutive month.Inflation figures measure the change in prices on a month on month or year on year basis reflecting the rise in prices with reference to previous time point.

Disconcerting Trends in the Economy

THE recovery of the economy immediately after the pandemic was reflected through positive and increasing growth in various sectors as businesses were back to normalcy. Much of these growth rates have been reflective of the pent up demand accumulated due to lock down and related disruptions. India records a relatively high growth rate compared to other countries and is estimated to be the second largest contributor of regional growth after China.

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