ABSTRACT
An examination of emerging patterns of employment in the Indian labour market is the central aim of this chapter, presenting data for 1999-2000 and their linkages through changes in business environment and technology during 1999-2000 to 2005-06. While explaining changes in employment, the neoclassical economic theory of labour, though criticized for its inept treatment of reality, provides two important inferences: (a) in a market economy, demand for labour can be derived from demand for products; (b) there is a link between demand for products and technology used in production. Without adopting a methodological, neoclassical, or alternative stance, we explore the pattern of employment during 1999-2000 to 2009-10. Here, quite clearly, we deviate from the neoclassical approach, which starts with models explaining the decision process of micro-decision units and then moves towards a predictive frame. Rather, our approach is to search for relevant patterns in secondary data on employment, business environment and technology and link these patterns with the inferences drawn from the neoclassical model.
