An Economic Analysis of Consumption Pattern and Livelihood Security of Casual Labour in Udaipur District of Rajasthan
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Date
2021
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MPUT Udaipur
Abstract
The present investigation was carried out study the consumption and livelihood security of casual labour, with a special focus on dietary pattern of consumption, expenditure elasticity, determinants of food consumption and security of livelihood, the status and functioning of the labour market, and the constraints faced by casual labour in Udaipur district of Rajasthan. This study is based on primary data collected from 320 samples of casual labour households comprising 160 urban and 160 rural casual laboour households for the year 2019-20. The tabular analysis and functional analysis were used to analyse the data in order to achieve the objectives of the study.
The results of the study show that the average income earned by casual labour was ranging from ₹8100 in rural casual labour to ₹11931 in urban casual labour. Cereals was the main part of their diet. Casual labour was deficient in cereals, pulses, milk and milk products, oil and fats, sugar and surplus in leafy vegetables. Overall monthly household expenditure on food items was ₹2331 in rural households and ₹2526 in urban households.
Monthly average expenditure on non-food items was higher in urban (₹3355) compared to rural households (₹2933). Cereals in food items and clothing and footwear in non-food items were the main contributor to consumption. Expenditure elasticity was the lowest in cereals (0.632) and the highest in vegetables (1.183). Cereals, sugar, salt and spices in food items have been identified as necessary and pulses, edible oil, eggs, milk and milk products, meat, vegetables and fruits have been identified as luxury for casual labour. As far as non-food items are concerned, electricity, medical, travel, and fuel expenses have been identified as necessary while intoxicants, clothing and footwear, education, personal care, durable goods, and social function expenditure have been considered luxury for casual labour households.
The income, household asset value, education, family size, skill level of casual labour, and savings had a positive while debt had a negative impact on consumption expenditure in casual labour.
For rural households, the values of HDDS and FCS were lower than urban households. Rural households were below the recommended level of Kcal intake compared to urban households. The value of all livelihood security indices were significantly higher for urban households than rural households except education and social network indices. Annual income, household asset value, education level, skill level, family size and indebtedness were the important factors affecting the security of household’s livelihood. Prevailing wage rate in the study area was found to be higher than the minimum wage fixed by the Rajasthan government for labour. Majority of households, who believed in loyalty to their employers, did not report any conflict with their employers, did not have a labour union, believed in discrimination in wages, faced undercutting wages, and reported freedom to reject the wage offered,
Casual labour perceived that large family sizes, lack of capital, lack of availability of hospitals/health centres and health services, lack of availability of schools/Anganwadi centres/colleges, lack of public contact of labour with information sources, lack of pucca houses, low wage rates and lack of availability of work etc as the major constraints. Employment opportunities in urban areas were found to be far better than rural areas, and the wage rate was also higher, leading to a higher level of income for casual work in urban casual labour.
Description
An Economic Analysis of Consumption Pattern and Livelihood Security of Casual Labour in Udaipur District of Rajasthan
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Citation
Sharma V. And Meena G.L.