Rural Non-Farm Sector Employment in the North-Eastern Region of India: Determinants and Implications for Wellbeing

The paper analyses the causal relationship between rural non-farm employment (RNFE) and the wellbeing of the people in India’s North-Eastern Region (NER). When India experienced a decline in poverty, specifically during the post-liberalisation period, the reduction of poverty was lower in NER, with a wide variation at the State level in the region than in the rest of the country. However, the structural shift in occupations and livelihoods in NER has been sharper than in other parts of the country. In this context, this paper aims to contribute to an understanding of the issue of occupational diversification in NER. Based on data from three rounds of the National Sample Survey (NSS), Employment & Unemployment Survey (EUS), and two rounds of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), that is, the PLFS of 2017-18 and 2019-20. The 2SLS regression analysis highlights the higher inclination of young persons with technical education, people belonging to large families, and females in rural NER towards seeking livelihoods in the non-farm sector.