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3721 items in total found

Working Papers | 1982

Quantification of Distributional Impact of Government Expenditure on Selected Social Services

Misra P N

This paper deals with empirical quantification of distributional impact of government expenditure on selected social services like education, health, medical and family planning at state level. The distributional impact has been quantified in accordance with three alternative points of view. The findings suggest that producers of food grains, who happen to constitute the majority of state's population are benefited the least from government expenditures when quantification is done according to income approach. The paper also brings out that most of the government expenditure is spend to substain the public organization concerned and very little of it percolates to ultimate beneficiaries in terms of relevant goods and materials.

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Working Papers | 1982

South Asian Experience in Agricultural Mechanization

Vyas Vijay Shankar

A remarkable feature of economic growth in South Asia during the last decade or so, is the emergence of agriculture as a buoyant sector. This is accompanied with popularization of machine power or the farms. An interesting feature of farm mechanization situation in South Asia is the existence of a relatively large number of four-wheel high power tractor, while the size of distribution of agricultural holdings should indicate larger prevalence of two-wheel or at any rate small power tractors. In the labour abundant economies of this region, it is difficult to justify large power driven is a major constraint. In the existing situation the type of mechanization is a major constraint. In the existing situation the type of mechanization prevalent in this region reflects, in essence, the bi-polar agrarian structure. The South Asian Agriculture, today, is at a stage when only those machines which are complementary to human labour and draft power can claim priority. The task is difficult because most of the machines are developed either in land surplus or in capital surplus economies which do not have to face the complex problems prevalent in this region. The challenge can be met adequately only with the collaboration of agricultural scientists, agricultural engineers, economists and management experts, all working closely with the ultimate user of their product, the agricultural producer.

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Working Papers | 1982

Inflation Hedge in India-Stocks or Bullion

Samir K. Barua and Ragunathan V

At a time of runaway inflation, when nothing seems to contain the pace of its gallop, it might be pertinent to look around for an investment which may shield the value of the investor's money against the devaluing onslaught of inflation gone amuck. In the west common stocks have often been examined as possible hedges against inflation, though other possible hedges such as the bullion have not received the necessary attention. In India however, there is paucity of work done in the very area of inflation hedge itself. This paper therefore empirically investigates common stocks and the bullion as possible inflation hedges in the Indian market. The study regards an asset a hedge against inflation if the rate of increase in its nominal value is greater than the rate of increase in inflation. The methodology thus reduces to regressing the logarithm of the nominal value of the asset on the logrithm of inflation index and test B for being less than or equal to one. The results (based on monthly data for fourteen years) reveal gold to be a consistent inflation hedge, both in the short run and the long run, while silver and common stocks qualify as partial hedges in varying degrees. Also the study clearly reflects the economic stability, apprehensions and the optimism of the Indian market in the pre-emergency, emergency and post-emergency period respectively.

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Working Papers | 1982

Sugarbeet Cultivation in India

Gurdev Singh and Guleria Amar

This Working Paper is a part of the project on 'Economic and Management Aspects of Sugar Production from Sugar beet' sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, to the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. The scope of this paper is restricted to cultivation of sugar beet. After giving a brief account of achievements in sugar beet cultivation in Sri Ganganagar, we have presented a depth study of 49 cultivators (growers, dropouts and non-adopters). The various aspects covered include awareness, adoption and diffusion of sugar beet cultivation among the sample farmers, actual and recommended cultivation practices, and cultivators' experience in beet cultivation, comparative profitability of beet and other crops, and implications for its spread in North India. The study highlighted various issues related to the adoption and spread of beet cultivation and identified certain constraints. The comparative economics of bet has established its superiority over other important crops of the area. Its, adoption in other areas, however, would depend on the nature of incentives and infrastructural arrangements for easy and quick disposal.

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Working Papers | 1982

Seasonality, Stratification and Staying on Process in Semi-Arid Regions

Anil K. Gupta

The differences in homeostatic ability of various sections of the society influencing their risk adjustment capacity in drought prone regions seem to explain why more people stay on than why few people migrate out. In this paper, a framework for analysis of the problem of rural population retention in dry, semi-arid regions is presented from the point of view of seasonality and stratification. It is suggested that the land transfer process leading to immeserization in some places is considerably influenced by the ecological context which determines the extent to which seasonal stresses constrain various decision making options for investment, employment or migration. Tentative evidence from Haryana and Maharashtra has been presented to hypothesize a conceptual framework for analyzing staying on process in such regions. The drought prone regions deserve a serious attention from policy planners particularly with reference to the development of non-farm enterprises like livestock and craft activities so that the problem of migration can be effectively tackled. The role of public works, formal financial intermediation and other intervention in influencing stratification and staying on process is also discussed.

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Working Papers | 1982

External Aid and Development Strategy in Rajasthan

Khanna Inderjit

Over the past decade it has been observed that state governments are being drawn towards externally aided projects. The lure seems to be of additional funds to supplement state financial resources. This study looks at the impact of 11 such externally aided projects in Rajasthan. On the point of additional financial resources it is found that the state had little to gain from such projects since during the period 1974-81, the state spent Rs. 153.62 crores on such projects whereas it received only Rs. 22 crores as additional assistance. A portion of the aid is retained by the central government and the terms on which it is passed on to the state government are more severe as compared to the terms on which aid is received by the central government. Therefore, the debt burden of the state is considerable. The pre-emption of funds for aided projects has also resulted in drastic cuts in outlays of other sectors thus slowing down activities therein. It has also increased regional disparities by increasing the gap between districts where such projects existed and those which have not been amongst the fortunate few. In sum, externally aided projects have brought little financial benefit to the state. In fact, by reducing the pace of development in non-aided sectors and by increasing, instead of reducing, regional disparities they are creating more problems for the future.

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Working Papers | 1982

Learning from Antyodaya: Some Lessons for IRDP

Khanna Inderjit

The Antyodaya programme was launched by the Rajasthan government to improve the socio economic well being of the 'last man' in 1977. Benefits were to be first extended to the poorest families in all of the villages in the state. In two years, nearly two lakh families were assisted by the programme after two rounds of implementation. Pension, land self employment and wage employment were the benefits offered. There were several positive changes in the implementation of the programme in terms of proper identification of beneficiaries and ensuring the availability of credit. On the basis of observations in other studies and in the authors' own case study, it is suggested that the Antyodaya programme's objective changed implicitly from one of raising the income level of the beneficiaries to that of distributing benefits. This is perhaps due to the overload of the programme in terms of the activities and functions. Before initiating a programme, it is, therefore, essential that careful consideration be given to the strengths and limitations of the implementing organisation. Thus, in designing anti poverty programmes such as Antyodaya and IRDP, means of providing a range of services-from distribution of benefits to 'after care' advice and support-will have to be assessed and measures taken to overcome the limitations. Otherwise, the programme may pursue short term targets and lose sight of the main objective.

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Working Papers | 1982

Agricultural Mechanization in Gujarat

Girja Sharan

The growth of agricultural implements used in Gujarat was examined on the basis of Livestock Census data of 1951, 56, 61, 66, 72. The total power now available on Gujarat farms comes to 0.6 hp/hect; if pumping sets are excluded, it is 0.34 hp/hect. This is lower than Punjab, and a little higher than the national average. The mechanization in Gujarat seems to be of this type which has taken over more of bullock functions than of human labor. This may change however in future; some gaps in implements data, design and development were identified.

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Working Papers | 1982

Performance in Relation to Anxiety and Job Involvement

Pestonjee D M and Singh Y K

In this investigation an attempt has been made to study the effect of anxiety and job involvement on performance of workers. Two psychometric tools were administered to 600 rank-and-file workers of textile unit to assess their levels of job involvement and anxiety. The index of their performance was the actual prediction records. Statistical analysis of the data indicate that both anxiety (F = 86.92; d f = 1,596' p<.01) and job involvement (F = 73.43; d f = 1,596; p<.01) have significantly affected performance. There interaction were also found to be significant (F = 41.19; d f = 1,596; p<.01). Findings indicate that for higher performance high job involvement and low levels of anxiety were necessary. Anxiety was found to be detrimental to performance even in the case of high levels of involvement.

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Working Papers | 1982

Experiment on Individual Investment Decision Making Process

Samir K. Barua and Srinivasan G

This working paper reports an investigation into the decision making process of individual faced with a set of risky investment opportunities. An experiment was conducted on a set of students and the data generated from the experiment was analyzed. The analysis was done to infer about the criteria of choice used by the participants and the form of utility function that explains the observed behaviour. It was found that the pattern of choice was well explained by adjusted logarithmic function. It was also found that the risk perception of individuals was determined jointly by the variance and the skew ness of the return distribution.

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