Employing India: Guaranteeing Jobs for the Rural Poor

This study assumes that the program under the Rural Employment Act is effectively creating jobs, that the jobs pay the official program wage and are mainly being taken by the rural poor, and that the nation’s castes and tribes are participating
in these jobs in proportions similar to those stated in the program’s official figures. It then asks, first, what are the macroeconomic and distributional implications of running an employment generation program like the Rural Employment Act. Second, it explores the economic and distributional consequences of partially diverting the program benefits away
from the poorest rural housheolds. And, third, it assesses the economic and distribution effects of contracting the program to its initial dimensions or significantly expanding it beyond its current size. Taking a long-term perspective, the study then details the economic and distributional effects of the program effectively increasing land productivity, and looks into the consequences of varying the size of the increase in productivity.

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - The Carnegie South Asia Program 2013

The Carnegie South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From the war in Afghanistan to Pakistan’s internal dynamics to U.S. engagement with India, the Program’s renowned team of experts offers in-depth analysis derived from its unique access to the people and places defining South Asia’s most critical challenges.