INCLUSIVE GROWTH AND SOCIAL CHANGE-PD

The current discourses on Indias economy indicate an ongoing process of structural transformation coupled with inclusive growth. This book presents a critique of this proposition from the perspective of the non-agricultural informal sectora component of the Indian economy that exists and expands without reaping any of the benefits of the high growth rate driven by the formal capital-rich sector. Questioning the idea of a formalinformal duality, the book explicates both the conflicts and complementarities between these two segments of the economy. It argues that, because of these conflicts and complementarities, the formality has to negotiate constantly with the informality, with or without the intervention of the State, thereby giving rise to a fractured/distorted structure of capitalism. The book engages with both orthodox and heterodox discourses of development. Through macro-models of interaction between formal, informal, and agriculture sectors along with detailed empirical analysis using state-, industry- and firm-level data on India, the book interrogates the paradigm of growth being inclusive, arguing that to incorporate the informal sector in the circuits of capital, a progressive structural change is needed within this sector.