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Livelihoods in India: Rural, Urban, and Skills

Reading list

Every reading this course assigns, module by module, with the best free copy we could find.

27 readings20 free to read5 on request2 books

A free copy is the published text, or the author's own manuscript held by a university repository, which has the same content without the journal's layout. A subscription reading opens at the publisher, where your library may give you access. If it does not, request a copy and we will reply by email. Books link to their publisher.

Module 1. Framing the Field

  1. World Bank (2012). World Development Report 2013: Jobs. World Bank.Read it free
  2. Chambers, R. and Conway, G. R. (1992). Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for the 21st Century. IDS Discussion Paper 296. Institute of Development Studies.Read it free
  3. Department for International Development (1999). Sustainable Livelihoods Guidance Sheets. DFID.Read it free

Module 2. Why Rural Still Dominates Indian Livelihoods Policy

  1. Roser, M. (2023). Employment in Agriculture. Our World in Data.Read it free

Module 3. NRLM and the SHG Federation Architecture

  1. Hoffmann, V., Rao, V., Surendra, V. and Datta, U. (2021). Relief from usury: Impact of a self-help group lending program in rural India. Journal of Development Economics, 148, 102567.Free copy of the published versionPublisher page

Module 4. Agriculture and Diversification: The Smallholder Question

  1. Roser, M. (2023). Employment in Agriculture. Our World in Data.Read it free

Module 5. MGNREGA: India's Largest Public Employment Programme

  1. Ghosh, R. (2014). A Bird's Eye View into the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. World Bank, End Poverty in South Asia blog.Read it free
  2. Imbert, C. and Papp, J. (2015). Labor Market Effects of Social Programs: Evidence from India's Employment Guarantee. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(2), 233-263.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Berg, E., Bhattacharyya, S., Rajasekhar, D. and Manjula, R. (2018). Can public works increase equilibrium wages? Evidence from India's National Rural Employment Guarantee. World Development, 103, 239-254.Free copy of the published versionPublisher page

Module 6. Financial Inclusion: From Microcredit to UPI

  1. World Bank (2025). The Global Findex Database 2025. World Bank.Read it free
  2. Banerjee, A., Karlan, D. and Zinman, J. (2015). Six Randomized Evaluations of Microcredit: Introduction and Further Steps. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 7(1), 1-21.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 7. The Urbanisation Reality

  1. Ortiz-Ospina, E., Samborska, V., Ritchie, H. and Roser, M. (2024). Urbanization. Our World in Data.Read it free

Module 8. Informal Sector Work and Street Vendor Policy

  1. International Labour Organization (2018). Women and Men in the Informal Economy: A Statistical Picture, 3rd edition. ILO.Read it free

Module 9. The Gig and Platform Economy

  1. International Labour Organization (2021). World Employment and Social Outlook 2021: The Role of Digital Labour Platforms in Transforming the World of Work. ILO.Read it free
  2. NITI Aayog (2022). India's Booming Gig and Platform Economy: Perspectives and Recommendations on the Future of Work. NITI Aayog.Read it free

Module 10. Domestic Workers: The Largest Invisible Workforce

  1. International Labour Organization (2021). Making Decent Work a Reality for Domestic Workers: Progress and Prospects Ten Years after the Adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189). ILO.Read it free
  2. Breman, J. (1996). Footloose Labour: Working in India's Informal Economy. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Agarwala, R. (2013). Informal Labor, Formal Politics, and Dignified Discontent in India. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 11. Urban Policy Tools: SVAMITVA, DAY-NULM, and the Missing Layers

  1. World Bank (n.d.). Leveraging Urbanization in India. World Bank country brief.Read it free

Module 12. Skill India: Promise vs Evidence

  1. International Labour Organization (2020). What is skills mismatch and why should we care? ILO.Read it free
  2. Maitra, P. and Mani, S. (2017). Learning and earning: Evidence from a randomized evaluation in India. Labour Economics, 45, 116-130.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Adhvaryu, A., Kala, N. and Nyshadham, A. (2023). Returns to On-the-Job Soft Skills Training. Journal of Political Economy, 131(8), 2165-2208.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 13. Apprenticeships: India's Most Under-Used Lever

This module assigns no readings.

Module 14. Women's Labour Force Participation: India's Productivity Puzzle

  1. Ortiz-Ospina, E., Rohenkohl, B., Arriagada, P., Tzvetkova, S. and Roser, M. (2018). Women's Employment. Our World in Data.Read it free

Module 15. Job Matching, Search, and Information

  1. Banerjee, A. and Sequeira, S. (2023). Learning by searching: Spatial mismatches and imperfect information in Southern labor markets. Journal of Development Economics, 164, 103111.Free copy of the published versionPublisher page

Module 16. Returns to Training: The Honest Story

  1. McKenzie, D. (2017). How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence. World Bank Research Observer, 32(2), 127-154.Read it free
  2. Card, D., Kluve, J. and Weber, A. (2010). Active Labour Market Policy Evaluations: A Meta-Analysis. Economic Journal, 120(548), F452-F477.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 17. Synthesis: The Tensions That Run Across All Three Modules

  1. World Bank (2012). World Development Report 2013: Jobs. World Bank.Read it free

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