ABSTRACT
Tamil Nadu is one of India’s more economically prosperous and industrialised states. In 2003, it was ranked second in the country for quality of infrastructure facilities and third for Foreign Direct Investment approval. Andhra Pradesh is a less prosperous state than Tamil Nadu but not a poor state. Official human development indicators suggest that Tamil Nadu has higher levels of human development than Andhra Pradesh. Tamil Nadu has a higher than average score compared to all of India, whereas Andhra Pradesh has been located closer to the all-India score. Whilst officially Tamil Nadu has better levels of human development amongst men and women compared to Andhra Pradesh and all India, the gender disparity between men and women within each state is similar. Women’s increasing or decreasing participation in the formal labour market can signify different dynamics and needs careful interpretation.
