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The effect of urban infrastructure development on female labour force participation among the poor and middle class in India

Published: 01 July 2020 Publication History

Abstract

In this paper, the impact of urban infrastructure investment on female labour force participation is studied for different income groups, namely, the poor, the lower class, and the middle class. In particular, the effect of government spending on water supply/sanitation, buses, and basic household services, under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) on female labour force participation is assessed. A probit regression model, over a pooled cross sectional dataset at the district level is used for the analysis. Female labour force participation is the categorical dependent variable, while government spending on the infrastructure scheme is the main explanatory variable. The results indicate that investment on water supply and sanitation facilities in a district has a positive effect on female labour force participation among middle class women, but not on lower class women. The expenditure on dwellings, and basic services, discourages female labour force participation among poor women. The paper throws light on the role of class in determining the effect of urban infrastructure programs on female labour force participation. It shows that the poor women are not driven into labour force due to lesser burden of household chores in the presence of better water supply, and sanitation facilities, and the urban housing programs alienate poor women from job opportunities, while encouraging middle class women to participate in the labour force due to the creation of a slum free, and supposedly safe environment.

References

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Bhalla, S., & Kaur, R. (2011). Labour force participation of women in India: some facts, some queries. Asia Research Centre, working paper, 40.
[2]
Chaudhary, R., & Verick, S. (2014). Female labour force participation in India and beyond. International Labour Organization, Asia Pacific working paper series.
[3]
Das, M. S., Jain-Chandra, S., Kochhar, M. K., & Kumar, N. (2015). Women workers in India: why so few among so many? International Monetary Fund (15-55).
[4]
Gopakumar, G. (2015). Intrusiveness of urban renewal in India: JNNURM as a development fix. Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d'études du développement, 36(1), 89--106.
[5]
Gunatilaka, R. (2013). To work or not to work?: Factors holding women back from market work in Sri Lanka. International Labour Organization, ILO DWT for South Asia and Country Office for India.
[6]
Huynh, P., & Kapsos, S. (2013). Economic class and labour market inclusion: Poor and middle class workers in developing Asia and the Pacific. ILO, Asia Pacific working paper series.
[7]
Ilahi, N., & Grimard, F. (2000). Public infrastructure and private costs: water supply and time allocation of women in rural Pakistan. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 49(1), 45--75.
[8]
Kamath, L., & Zachariah, Y. (2013). How Have the JNNURM and UIDSSMT/IHSDP Programmes Affected Infrastructure and Governance Outcomes in Cities/Towns in India? Reviewing the State Knowledge. Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
[9]
Khan, S. (2014). The other JNNURM: What does it mean for small towns in India. CPR Working Paper no. 4.
[10]
Koolwal, G., & Van de Walle, D. (2013). Access to water, women's work, and child outcomes. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 61(2), 369--405.

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  1. The effect of urban infrastructure development on female labour force participation among the poor and middle class in India

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      cover image ACM Conferences
      COMPASS '20: Proceedings of the 3rd ACM SIGCAS Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies
      June 2020
      359 pages
      ISBN:9781450371292
      DOI:10.1145/3378393
      Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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      Published: 01 July 2020

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      Author Tags

      1. Class
      2. Gender
      3. Infrastructure
      4. Labour force

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