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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Nature, Extent, Causes And Issues In Agricultural Distress, Srijit Mishra Jul 2015

Nature, Extent, Causes And Issues In Agricultural Distress, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This paper explains the nature and extent of distress in Indian agriculture by analytically separating the issues therein into two interrelated domains—the agricultural and the agrarian—the former being about production and the latter about distribution; the former about the farm and the latter about the farmer; the former about the inadequacies and inappropriateness of the agricultural developmental programmes, and the latter about the livelihood of the people involved in or dependent upon agrarian activities. In this broader thinking farmers’ suicides and indebtedness become symptoms of a larger malaise. Drawing on our understanding of farmers’ suicides, we show some interrelated demand-side …


Towards Measuring Interventions In Rainfed Areas, Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan, Rajendra, Srijit Mishra Jan 2015

Towards Measuring Interventions In Rainfed Areas, Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan, Rajendra, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This paper underlines the process through which we have arrived at the indicators for various thematic nodes to measure and evaluate interventions or comprehensive pilots in rainfed areas. We conceptualize a simple four stage process, i.e., ‘objective or goal formulation’, 'means finding', 'targets settings' and 'indicator identification', which we refer to as OMTI (Objective-Means-Target-Indicators) framework. In indicator literature, this kind of framework can be categorized under "thematic framework" or "goal oriented framework". The operationalization of OMTI framework highlights its nuances and brings forth its limitations. In order to overcome some of these limitations, we validate the OMTI framework using the …


Decomposing Poverty Change: Within- And Between-Group Effects, Srijit Mishra Dec 2014

Decomposing Poverty Change: Within- And Between-Group Effects, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This slide share explains the method of 'Decomposing Poverty Change: Deciphering Change in Total Population and Beyond' published in the Review of Income and Wealth.


Reading Between The Poverty Lines, Srijit Mishra Sep 2014

Reading Between The Poverty Lines, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

The proposed Rangarajan method on measurement of poverty in India borrows elements from three earlier methods – those of Alagh, Lakdawala and Tendulkar. An important departure in the Rangarajan method is to compute the poverty line commodity basket by combining items from two fractile groups to address the relatively higher expenses for some essential non-food items. This, while being statistically plausible, poses a behavioural dilemma, as there will be no fractile group that will satisfy both. As an alternative, we suggest dual poverty lines where the fi rst is computed on the basis of average calorie, protein and fat requirements …


Informal Workers And Their Rights, Srijit Mishra Jan 2014

Informal Workers And Their Rights, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

The four fundamental principles and rights at work are intrinsic and with a pragmatic relevance that also find resonance in the Constitution of India through its Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles. Our interpretation through a Rawlsian prism also adds to our understanding of these four fundamental principles. An evaluation of the Indian context points out that more than 90 per cent of the workforce is informal workers and that the proportion of informal workers is also increasing in the organised sector. Further, our analysis indicates shortcomings in the four fundamental principles. Their freedom to organise is limited as most work …


Measuring Hdi: The Old, The New And The Elegant, Srijit Mishra, Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan Oct 2013

Measuring Hdi: The Old, The New And The Elegant, Srijit Mishra, Hippu Salk Kristle Nathan

Srijit Mishra

The Human Development Index (HDI) is calculated using normalized indicators from three dimensions- health, education, and standard of living (or income). This paper evaluates three aggregation methods of computing HDI using a set of axioms. The old measure of HDI taking a linear average of the three dimensions satisfies monotonicity, anonymity, and normalization (or MAN) axioms. The current geometric mean approach additionally satisfies the axioms of uniformity, which penalizes unbalanced or skewed development across dimensions. We propose an alternative measure, where HDI is the additive inverse of the distance from the ideal. This measure, in addition to the above-mentioned axioms, …


Poverty In India And Its Decompositions: A Critical Appraisal Of The New Method, Durgesh C. Pathak, Srijit Mishra Jan 2013

Poverty In India And Its Decompositions: A Critical Appraisal Of The New Method, Durgesh C. Pathak, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This paper has two objectives. First, it critically discusses the new method of measuring poverty. In doing so, it raises some concerns implicit in the report - (a) the need to go beyond calories to have an understanding of nutritional requirement, which could not be adequately addressed in the new method, (b) the need to incorporate expenditure on health, education and sanitation, as these are not being adequately provided by the state, which also raises serious apprehensions on whether India is a welfare state, and (c) the need to come up with multi-dimensional measures of poverty. Nevertheless, the paper contends …


Cultural Liberty, Srijit Mishra Feb 2012

Cultural Liberty, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This lecture is based on HDR 2004.


Human Development And Human Rights, Srijit Mishra Feb 2012

Human Development And Human Rights, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This lecture discusses the relationship between Human Development and Human Rights


Assignment On Commodities And Capabbilities, Ritika Palit Feb 2012

Assignment On Commodities And Capabbilities, Ritika Palit

Srijit Mishra

No abstract provided.


Sen On Capabalities, Srijit Mishra Feb 2012

Sen On Capabalities, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

A lecture discussing capability based on Sen's Commodities and Capabilities.


Nussbaum On Sen, Srijit Mishra Feb 2012

Nussbaum On Sen, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This lecture is based on Nussbaum's paper Capabilities as Fundamental Entitlements: Sen and Social Justice, Feminist Economics, 9 (2-3), 2003, 33-59.


Sen On Rawls', Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Sen On Rawls', Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This is a lecture based on Sen's paper What do we want from a theory of justice? Journal of Philosophy, Vol CIII, No. 5. May 2006.


Some Questions: Understanding Rawls, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Some Questions: Understanding Rawls, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

There are a few questions which give three different possibilities (libertarian, utilitarian, egalitarian) as Sen puts it but they also represent Rawls' equality of liberty (first principle), choosing the capable (first part of second principle) and providing for the most disadvantaged (second part of second principle).


Rawls On Justice, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Rawls On Justice, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

These are based on Rawls' Justice as Fairness: A Restatement


Open Book Test 1, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Open Book Test 1, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This is the first test. It is open book and discussions are allowed. Send your responses by evening.


Ends And Means Of Development, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Ends And Means Of Development, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

Lecture on Sen's Development as Freedom


Development As Freedom: Introduction And Perspective, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Development As Freedom: Introduction And Perspective, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This presentation discusses the introduction and perspective chapter from Amarty Sen's Development as Freedom. This is meant for the course on 'Contemporary Issues in Human Development and Policy'.


Two Decades Of Human Development, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Two Decades Of Human Development, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This is Lecture 1 of the course 'Contemporary Issues in Human Development and Policy' offered during January-May 2012 at IGIDR


Introductory: Knowing Each Other, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Introductory: Knowing Each Other, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This is an introductory lecture for the course 'Contemporary Issues in Human Development and Policy' being offered at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai.


Course Outline, Contemporary Issues In Human Development And Policy, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Course Outline, Contemporary Issues In Human Development And Policy, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This is the course outline for 'Contemporary Issues in Human Development and Policy: A New Millennium Perspective' January-May 2012, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai.


Hunger, Ethics And The Right To Food, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Hunger, Ethics And The Right To Food, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

he management of hunger has to look into the issues of availability, accessibility and adequacy of food supply. From an ethical perspective, this paper argues in favour of the right to food. But, for this to become viable, the state has to come up with an appropriate and effective bill on food and nutrition security, address the issue of inadequate provisioning of storage space by state agencies leading to rotting of food grains - a criminal waste when people are dying of hunger; and rely on local level institutions involving the community, that complement the administrative structure to identify the …


Access To Land: Some Issues, Srijit Mishra Jan 2012

Access To Land: Some Issues, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

The paper, or rather note, is a brief review of some existing literature. It underscores the need for improved land access to the tiller from the point of view of both equity and efficiency. Some of the suggestions are: (i) opening up of the land lease market so that tenancy does not go underground (ii) in states like West Bengal where tenancy is protected, provision could be made to make them owners in part of the land while giving up claims for the rest, (iii) reduce transaction costs in land markets, which include fees but also bribes being paid, (iv) …


Group Differential Measures, Srijit Mishra Mar 2011

Group Differential Measures, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This lecture about group differential is based on ongoing research that proposes measure to capture the fact that same gap at a higher level of attainment or lower level of failure should be considered as worse off.


Hdi: The Old, The New And The Elegant, Srijit Mishra Mar 2011

Hdi: The Old, The New And The Elegant, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

This lecture critically discusses the HDI measure, the old measure of linear averaging (arithmetic mean), the new measure of geometric mean and a proposed new measure which is the inverse of the shortfall of the Euclidean distance from the ideal.


Conflict Resolution Through Mutuality: Lessons From Bayesian Updating, Srijit Mishra Jan 2011

Conflict Resolution Through Mutuality: Lessons From Bayesian Updating, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

If priors are deterministic (zero or unity) and conditional evidence is uncertain (lies between zero and one) then Bayesian updating will lead to posteriors that are the same as priors. This in a sense explains the persistence of fundamentalist belief. Under such a belief system, only if conditional evidence is deterministic and diametrically opposite to that of the prior then a process of change can set in. Conflict resolution is possible through dialogues that calls for mutual respect and allows reasonable pluralism – a Rawlsian prerequisite. If interaction is the basis then self-defeating scenarios can be avoided by giving space …


Persistence Of Crisis In Indian Agriculture: Need For Technological And Institutional Alternatives, Srijit Mishra, D. Narasimha Reddy Jan 2011

Persistence Of Crisis In Indian Agriculture: Need For Technological And Institutional Alternatives, Srijit Mishra, D. Narasimha Reddy

Srijit Mishra

The crisis in Indian agriculture has two dimensions - agricultural developmental and agrarian livelihood. Some aspects of the agricultural crisis are decelertion in production, productivity and value of output from early 1990s in almost all crops. Withdrawal of the state from public investment in irrigation and related infrastructure, providing access to formal credit, and waning link between research & extension and farming. As a result, the farmer faces multiple risks, vagaries of weather, price shocks, and spurious inputs among others, further compromising on his already lower returns. On agrarian crisis, what is worrying is that the deceleration in agriculture happened …


Editorial: Contemporary Issues In Global Economy And Policy Analysis, Sushanta Mallick, Srijit Mishra Jan 2011

Editorial: Contemporary Issues In Global Economy And Policy Analysis, Sushanta Mallick, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

No abstract provided.


Progress In Human Development: Are We On The Right Path, Hippu Sk Nathan, Srijit Mishra Sep 2010

Progress In Human Development: Are We On The Right Path, Hippu Sk Nathan, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

The conventional measure of Human Development Index (HDI) is a linear average across dimensions, HDI1. Under this, poor attainments in any dimension gets perfectly compensated for better attainments in any other dimension HDI2, which is based on Euclidean distance measuring shortfall from the ideal, addresses the above anomaly. In our analysis of progress, we use HDI2 to develop the notion of an ideal path and penalty to capture deviation from this; and a measure of fluctuation. The measures are applied to 127 countries for the period 1990-2004. The results show that Sub-Saharan countries have suffered on account of sharp decline …


Editorial: Emerging Issues In Developmental And Sectoral Performance - The Indian Experience, Sushanta Mallick, Srijit Mishra Sep 2010

Editorial: Emerging Issues In Developmental And Sectoral Performance - The Indian Experience, Sushanta Mallick, Srijit Mishra

Srijit Mishra

The selected six papers focused on different aspects of development policy. The aim is to put together diverse development issues and their implications in different segments of an economy, which are critical issues for low- and middle-income countries in a globalised financial system that places high risk for greater capital mobility into these countries. This special issue focuses on different structural aspects that can give rise to varying degrees of country-specific risks. While the first two papers investigate challenges facing development or improvement in standard of living, the next two papers focus on labour market reform and trade liberalisation in …