Formal Labour Market in Urban India
Job Search, Hiring Practices and Discrimination
- Rajendra P Mamgain - Professor, Girl Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow, India
Formal Labour Market in Urban India: Job Search, Hiring Practices and Discrimination is a comprehensive study on the demand and supply dynamics of urban labour markets in India. It presents an in-depth analysis of job search methods, job postings, access to information, job mobility, access to quality employment and hiring practices by employers. The book covers employed as well as unemployed job seekers belonging to different genders and socio-religious groups. It examines the nature and magnitude of discrimination and related consequences on employment, income and social status of labour. It further explains how social networks and employee referrals are critical in job search and job mobility in urban India, thereby undermining the chances of those equally or more competent for a job. The book offers valuable policy suggestions towards inclusive labour market through informational symmetries, education and skill development, and promoting socially inclusive policies by private enterprises.
Based on a rigorous research, this book offers a credible explanation of the way job search and hiring practices work in India’s urban labour market for formal employment, which may be a small one but it is where people seeking jobs aspire to be. It is also an arena where discrimination is a fact of life often camouflaged in the name of merit, resulting in inequality of not only wages but also employment and finally of opportunities. I recommend the book not only to students of labour economics but also to a wider audience of informed citizens, given the political importance of the findings contained in this book.
This is a highly insightful book examining the way in which generations-old inequalities by caste, ethnicity and religion interact with modern labour markets to reshape the opportunity structures in contemporary India. Its primary strength lies in its careful examination of job search strategies and the processes through which employers choose to interview and hire some candidates while excluding others.
Professor Mamgain meticulously combines what we know from large-scale surveys with the findings of his sample survey of the urban labour market. He focuses on issues relating to access and inclusion in the context of interactions between job seekers and job providers. He convincingly shows that the socially marginalised do not get a fair deal, particularly from the private sector. This book should be of interest to labour economists, sociologists and others interested in development issues.
Employment is at the heart of debates on economics and politics in contemporary India. This engaging book, based on a large sample survey, provides a systematic analysis of job search and hiring practices in the formal sector, characterised by asymmetric information, where unequal opportunities combined with discriminatory practices accentuate inequalities and reinforce exclusion. In doing so, it makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of a relatively unexplored domain while making important suggestions about how to improve the quality of employment in a rapidly changing, yet imperfect, labour market. The book will be a valuable reading for teachers, students and researchers in economics, as well as for policymakers and practitioners in labour studies.