ABSTRACT
Kerala’s development experience has always received attention at the national and international levels. In early economic literature, Kerala is perceived as a state where comparatively lower levels of income (Net State Domestic Product) co-existed with high levels of human development (UN and CDS 1975). More recent studies however proclaim that though Kerala experienced faster economic growth in the postreform period, the state has also been experiencing widening interpersonal inequality during this period. K. K. Subrahmanian and Syam Prasad (2008) attributed Kerala’s increasing inequalities to ‘excessive’ liberalization and globalization policies and lack of proper tax and social security policies. Padmaja Mishra and Ashok Parikh (1992) discussed the high levels of inequality between urban and rural sectors in Kerala. The role of caste in Kerala’s inequality is emphasized by Ashwini Deshpande (2002). Problems in tax policy and development expenditure (Pal and Ghosh 2007) and the differential effect of globalization, economic reforms and neoliberal policies among different occupational groups (Jha et al. 2007) are reasons suggested by other authors.
