Abstract
No plan for local economic development within the larger metropolitan region of Kolkata can realistically succeed unless based on an understanding of the informal sector and taking account of it in subsequent local development strategy. The objective of this chapter is to provide a detailed look at the state of the informal sector in the larger metropolitan region of Kolkata since 1991. This information would provide a means to understand the impact of economic liberalization on the local economies of the various smaller towns/municipalities that constitute the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) and to suggest ways to incorporate the informal sector in the growth process. The study is based on aggregate-level secondary data that present trends in growth and structure of the informal sector in the KMA. The study also considers informal manufacturing activities and informal service activities, and highlights ways to include the informal sector in the local economic development process.
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Notes
- 1.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation was left out of the survey because of its large size and specific problems. It cannot be treated on a par with the smaller municipal towns and corporations within the KMA.
- 2.
M refers to Municipality and MC to Municipal Corporation.
- 3.
According to these entities, the annual growth in the organized sector was 0.65 % between 1984–1985 and 1989–1990, 2.13 % between 1989–1990 and 1994–1995, and 0.70 % between 1994–1995 and 1999–2000. Immediately following economic reforms there was a surge in organized sector employment, but this did not last long.
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Acknowledgments
This paper was presented at the 4th International Conference on Sociology held in Athens, Greece, 10–13 May 2010.
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Shaw, A. (2016). The Informal Sector in Kolkata Metropolitan Area: Appraisal and Prospects for Local Economic Development. In: Dutt, A., Noble, A., Costa, F., Thakur, R., Thakur, S. (eds) Spatial Diversity and Dynamics in Resources and Urban Development. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9786-3_24
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