The Nonfarm Economy

Reviews / Votes

This extraordinary book illuminates in a coherent manner, imaginatively combining data with formal modelling, that dark corner of development economics called the 'nonfarm' informal economy. Although India is the primary focus, many developing countries and regions across the globe find their place in the comparative analysis. It is an extremely valuable addition to the development literature and should be on the essential reading list of students, researchers and practitioners concerned with development studies and problems. * Amit Bhaduri, Retired Professor, CESP, Jawaharlal Nehru University * This groundbreaking book is a must-read for anyone concerned about the persistence and even the rise of the informal sector. Based on an extended structuralist model, the authors use in-depth case studies of selected Indian regions, econometric analysis, and international comparisons to provide empirical evidence of the counterintuitive effect of formal sector growth: the squeezing out of the agricultural sector and the consequent expansion of petty, non-agricultural, informal activities in rural areas. It is up to date with an analysis of the impact of the COVID pandemic and offers thoughtful policy recommendations. * Christoph Scherrer, Kassel Institute for Sustainability * Mainstream development literature maintains that economic dualism will gradually disappear in the poorer countries as, under the guidance of free market forces, they converge to a unified capitalistic modern economy with full participation of the labour force. This has not happened. Not only has the old industry-agriculture dualism persisted, but even within non-agriculture, a significant type of neo-dualism has emerged, comprising a modernizing nonfarm sector and petty informal activities. As a result, poverty, unemployment, economic exclusion, and insecurity refuse to vanish despite impressive overall aggregative growth. Using an elegant analytical framework well supported by Indian data, the authors have succeeded in providing very important insights into this disturbing puzzle of neo-dualism. This is a truly impressive intellectual achievement. * Soumyen Sikdar, Retired Professor, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta * The authors of The Nonfarm Economy combine considerable analytical expertise, deep knowledge of data, keen understanding of policymaking, and clear, effective writing to explore a key question in India's ongoing economic transformation: How does capitalist growth impact rural economic structures? * Tirthankar Roy, Professor of Economic History, London School of Economics *