Globalization and Labour Reforms: The Politics of Interest Groups and Partisan Governments

Globalization, as commonly understood, limits policy choices of a nation by creating structural and institutional constraints. This leads to an important question: are political actors still relevant in shaping policy in the interest of domestic socio-economic concerns? Locating labour as a critical political economy factor, essential for production and capable of political action, this book examines the political economy of labour reforms. Through a careful study of labour market reforms across sub-national states of India, it draws attention to the continuing relevance of local politics in influencing public policy. Drawing on the evidence from the pairs of institutionally and economically alike states, Gujarat–Maharashtra and West Bengal-Andhra Pradesh, this book shows that despite pressures of convergence under conditions of globalization, reforms vary across states, depending on partisan governments, dynamics of interest group negotiations, and party competition. Using both qualitative and quantitative analyses, the book argues that ‘who governs’ matters for how globalization unfolds in any society, and that public policies continue to be nuanced, if not shaped by politics.

By analysing the labour policy in India, the book makes an important contribution to political economy research on transitional economies.