Title: Necessary public policies required for accumulation of human capital among informal worker households of India

Authors: Amit Kundu; Rajyasri Roy

Addresses: Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India ' Jadavpur University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Abstract: Over the decades, the Indian labour force has been dominated by informal workers. Investment in human capital is considered a luxury commodity for households depending on different types of informal work for their livelihood. This paper, based on NSSO's 68th round survey, has identified a few public policies, like the expansion of Jana Dhan Yojana, offering fuel and electricity at subsidised rates, efficient distribution of nutritious food through the public distribution system, and offering cycles to the students to reduce their private transport costs, which are very much effective public policies to encourage the present informal workers to invest in human capital accumulation for their next generation, i.e., those public policies should not be considered as implemented only for 'popular political gain'. Awareness programs like the importance of investment in human capital for their children should also be arranged for those parents.

Keywords: informal worker; accumulation of human capital; Heckman's two-step treatment effect model; public policies; India.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPLAP.2025.147246

International Journal of Public Law and Policy, 2025 Vol.11 No.3, pp.263 - 280

Received: 25 Sep 2023
Accepted: 09 Jan 2024
Published online: 14 Jul 2025 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article