Labour Law Reforms in India

Anamitra Roychowdhury teaches economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. Previously, he taught at St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. He completed his doctoral studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University and his areas of interest include development economics, labour economics, Indian economy and macroeconomics. He has published a number of research articles in many renowned international and national journals including International Labour Review, Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Economic and Political Weekly and Social Scientist. His commentaries on contemporary economic issues have appeared in Global Labour Column, Mainstream and Macroscan.

‘This excellent study skillfully combines information about labour laws with theoretical analysis. It deserves to be read by all, researchers, politicians and practitioners in the field who are not swayed by oversimplified rhetoric of labour market reform.’Amit Bhaduri, Professor Emeritus, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India‘Dr Anamitra Roychowdhury’s book Labour Law Reforms in India: All in the Name of Jobs is a careful analysis of one of the major economic questions in recent times. After critically evaluating the voluminous literature, the author builds formal analytical models to explain the empirical findings. The book is a valuable addition to the academic and policy discourse.’R. Nagaraj, Professor of Economics, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India ‘This book alerts us that increasingly employers will offer contract rather than permanent work. It examines the theory behind labour market flexibility and offers us a macroeconomic perspective that contradicts the one which focuses solely on the labour market without considering the repercussions at the aggregate economy wide level. It is important reading for those concerned about the future of livelihoods and how developing nations should respond to that.’Errol D' Souza, Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India‘That the inevitable result of flexibility in the labour market—either by legislation or by stealth—has been widening gaps in income and well-being is now accepted by many economists with greater equanimity than before. This book will have further sobering effect on the supporters of the so-called labour market flexibility as it critically looks at the theoretical arguments that provide justification for flexibility. With a balanced combination of theoretical arguments and empirical evidence the book eminently accomplishes what it sets out to do – to show convincingly that the measures advocated to make labour market more flexible are unlikely to produce the results they are supposed to produce.’Achin Chakraborty, Director, Institute of Development Studies Kolkata, India

• List of Figures. List of Tables. Foreword. Acknowledgements. List of Abbreviations. Introduction 1. Present Status of Labour Laws in India and their Proposed Amendments 2. A Critical Examination of the Labour Market Flexibility Debate in India 3. Explanation of Jobless Growth in Indian Manufacturing and Trends in Labour Conditions 4. Identifying the Theoretical Structure Underlying Labour Market Flexibility and its Critical Examination 5. Some Market Clearing Models on Labour Market Flexibility 6. Effectiveness of Labour Market Flexibility in Face of Effective Demand Constraint 7. Labour Market Flexibility in an Open Economy Context 8. Concluding Remarks: Labour Market Flexibility and the Proposal for Laissez-Faire Capitalism. Bibliography