Networks in the traditional economy – evidence from India

Iversen, V., Sen, K., Verschoor, A. and Dubey, A. (2007) Networks in the traditional economy – evidence from India. Working Paper. Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM), University of Manchester.

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Abstract

There is a broad consensus among economists that social networks impact on migration and labour market outcomes. Much of the empirical literature has focused on job search and thus supply-side explanations of network effects. This paper examines a particular demand-side explanation - the use of networks as an optimal recruitment strategy. Our theory of optimal recruitment predicts a negative relationship between network use and the skill intensity of jobs, a positive association between economic activity and network use and a negative relationship between network use and pro-labour legislation. It also predicts social identity to influence network access. Developing and implementing an empirical strategy to test for these relationships, we use migration data from an all-India Employment Survey to find strong support for demand-side explanations of the role of social networks in influencing migration behaviour. The negative association to skill-intensity suggests that demand-side driven labour market failure is likely to be a particularly severe problem in developing economies.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Gender and Development Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Impact Evaluation University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Depositing User:	Abigail Dalgleish
Date Deposited:	12 Apr 2011 15:37
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2023 15:06
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/29125
DOI:

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