Publications & Resources
Our faculty, students and researchers work together everyday to contribute to a better world by grappling with urgent problems we are facing in India. We conduct rigorous work to produce high quality learning resources and publications to contribute to public discourse and social change. Here, we feature a sample from our work for everyone to access. You can explore featured resources, policies, and the latest publications from the University.
To explore all the work of our University, please visit our publications repository.
- Published
- Authors
Abstract
Azim Premji University, in collaboration with 9 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), conducted a survey of 3,000 households in 92 low-income settlements across 39 wards of Bengaluru. The survey was done to estimate the continuing impact of COVID-19 induced lockdowns and economic disruptions on employment and livelihoods. The survey also captured information on access to government support as well as coping mechanisms to deal with such a crisis. Workers in a wide range of occupations such as drivers (cab, auto, and others), daily wage workers (construction and others), domestic workers, and factory workers (garment and others) were surveyed. The survey was conducted in the month of November 2021 with the help of Action Aid, Association for Promoting Social Action (APSA), The Center for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), Hasiru Dala, Gubbachi, Reaching Hand, Sangama, Swabhimaan Trust, and Thamate.
- Download the full report here
- Press release: English | Kannada
- Key Findings: Short | Detailed
- YouTube video of the virtual event held on 4 April, 2022.
- Recording of the in-person event held on 29 March, 2022 in Bengaluru is available here.
Media coverage
– Print
- Bangalore Mirror: Inheritance of Covid losses (30 Mar 22 | Page 1, 8)
- Rajasthan Patrika: तीन फीसदी परिवारों को ही मिला नकद हस्तांतरण योजनाओं का कुछ लाभ : अध्ययन (30 Mar 22 | Page 1)
- The Hindu: Survey finds that Covid-19 impact on livelihoods continues (30 Mar 22 | Page 4)
- The New Indian Express: Urban poor still coping with job, income loss- Report (30 Mar 22 | Page 2)
- Udayavani: Kannada (30 Mar 22 | Page 8)
– Online
- ETV Bharat: ರಾಜಧಾನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ನಿಂದಾದ ದುಷ್ಪರಿಣಾಮ : ಸಮೀಕ್ಷೆಯ ವರದಿ ಬಿಚ್ಚಿಟ್ಟ ಅಜೀಂ ಪ್ರೇಮ್ಜಿ ವಿವಿ
- Hindustan Times: 3% benefitted from Karnataka govt’s cash scheme
- News9: Bengaluru COVID impact survey- Job, income losses hamper ability of households to recover
- Rajasthan Patrika: कोरोना महामारी : 40 फीसदी ने कम भोजन से किया गुजारा
- The Indian Express: Job and income losses persisted among low-income settlements well past 2020 lockdown- Study
- The News Minute: Job, income losses due to lockdowns continue to impact Bengaluru urban poor
Links
Report
The Indian labour market through the lens of public sector recruitment
in Azim Premji University
- Published
- Authors
Abstract
In India, as in many countries around the world, most government jobs are allocated through a system of merit-based exams. Over the past few decades, these exams have become incredibly competitive, at times receiving over 1,000 applications for each vacancy.
Against a backdrop of rising educational attainment, high aspirations, disappointment with private sector opportunities, and a deep unmet need for income security, it is understandable why the demand for public sector employment opportunities is so high.
Yet despite the large footprint that public sector recruitments have in our social, economic and political life, many basic questions about them remain shrouded in mystery. Who applies? Why do they apply? Are these intense levels of competition socially productive, or do they make people worse off? Why are people willing to invest so much in exam preparation? Why are people willing to gamble on such low odds of getting selected?
Our lack of understanding limits our ability to formulate sound labour market policy. As we will see, a large share of college graduates participate in public sector recruitment exams, and candidates for these exams make up a disproportionate share of the overall unemployed population. How can we improve employment outcomes if we do not understand who the unemployed are and how they invest their time?
The main reason for the holes in our understanding is a lack of data. To date, neither private nor public household surveys include questions on whether individuals are preparing for competitive exams; and recruitment agencies have historically been cloistered institutions, understandably concerned about protecting the integrity of the recruitment process. As a result, the crores of candidates preparing for competitive exams around the country remain largely invisible in data, and by extension in policy.
This report attempts to shine a light on this dark corner of the labour market. To do so, the researcher uses several new sources of data. First, he draws on administrative data from a recruitment agency. This data allows us to observe the whole recruitment process for the entire universe of applicants — the first time such data has been made available in the Indian context.
Second, the researcher uses data from a large-scale survey of over 3,000 candidates, which provides information about their investments in exam preparation, their access to resources, their constraints, and their beliefs.
Third, the research collaborators and the researcher conducted interviews and focus groups with candidates to better understand them in their own words. These rich data sources provide new insights into the economic and social life of candidates preparing for competitive exams.
The goal of this report is to demonstrate how both labour market and recruitment policy can be informed by a better understanding of candidate application behaviour. This understanding can, in turn, help us tackle some of the key challenges in the modern Indian labour market — high levels of educated unemployment, a lack of skill development, low levels of female labour force participation, and more.
Summary Articles:
VoxDev: The costs of extreme competition for government jobs: Evidence from India
Ideas for India: The costs of extreme competition for government jobs
Further Reading:
Mangal, Kunal (2022a), “How much are government jobs in developing countries worth?.” Download here.
Mangal, Kunal (2022b), “The long-run costs of highly competitive exams for government jobs.” Download here.FAQs:
Are the statistics in the report official?
Although the report uses official data, the statistics in the report were not computed by TNPSC. Therefore, none of these statistics are official, and any errors in processing the data are entirely my own.
Is the report written in affiliation with any coaching center?
No. We are academic researchers. No one who was involved in either collecting and analyzing the data had any affiliation with a coaching center.
Will the report be available in Tamil?
We hope to be able to provide a Tamil summary of the report in the near future.
Links