Regional Disparities in Employment and Income in Rural Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Andhra Pradesh is one of the largest states of India with more than 60 percent of the population earning their livelihood in agriculture. The paper studies regional disparities in employment, unemployment and income in Andhra Pradesh. The empirical results are based on unit level data of rural households based on employment and unemployment surveys conducted by National Sample Survey Organisation. The analysis shows that the share of agricultural workers is less in the agriculturally developed Coastal region compared with the less developed Telangana region and drought prone Rayalaseema region. The work participation rate is low and unemployment and wage rates are high in Coastal compared with Telangana and Rayalaseema due to high reservation wage rate, high per capita income and capital intensive agricultural sector in Coastal region. With the development of agriculture, there has been a simultaneous increase in demand for non-agricultural goods and services resulting in increased share of non-agricultural workers in total work force in the Coastal region. The share of self-employed is higher in both Telangana and Rayalaseema regions. Weekly wage earnings are higher for males, higher educated, and upper caste workers