CBSE Class 11 Economics Employment Growth Informalisation And Other Issues

Question. The unemployment rate for ______ are found to be higher than for _____
a) Males, Females
b) Urban .rural
c) Females, Males
d) Both a and b
Answer. C

Question. You are a factory owner and have given employment to 400 workers. If 10 workers are dismissed by you without loss of production then this situation will be described as
a) structural unemployment
b) disguised unemployment
c) seasonal unemployment
d) casual unemployment
Answer. B

Question. Over the 7 years period from 2004-2005 to 2010-2011 inflation rate has been ____ percent per annum
a) 6
b) 7
c) 5
d) 4
Answer. A

Question. Why did the government shift its strategy from long term to short term programmes to remove unemployment?
a) Large Scale Corruption
b) Long term programmes takes a long time to implement
c) Lack of funds
d) Lukewarm response from the state governments
Answer. B 

Question. Define Jobless Growth.
Answer. Jobless growth is defined as an economic phenomenon in which an economy experiences growth while maintaining or decreasing its level of employment.

Question. Which of the following is not the measures of employment and unemployment?
a) Usual Principal Status (UPS),
b) Usual Principal and Subsidiary Status (UPSS),
c) Current Monthly Status (CMS)
d) Current Daily Status (CDS).
Answer. C

Question. The job security that a worker enjoys is in which sector?
a) Unorganized Sector
b) Agriculture Sector
c) Organized Sector
d) Private Sector
Answer. C

Question. In rural area unemployment is
a) Disguised Unemployment
b) Industrial Unemployment
c) Seasonal Unemployment
d) 1 & 3
Answer. D

Question. When does underemployment occur?
a) When people do not want to work
b) When people are not skilled
c) When people are not paid for their work
d) When people are working less than they are capable of
Answer. D

Question. What type of unemployment does urban area suffer from?
a) Open Unemployment
b) Disguised Unemployment
c) Seasonal Unemployment
d) None
Answer. A

Question. An establishment with four hired workers is known as which sector establishment.
a) Informal
b) Formal
c) Both
d) None
Answer. A

Question. Which of the following is not a part of AYUSH ?
a) Yoga
c) Ayurvedic
b) Homeopathy
d) Autopsy
Answer. D

Question. India’s health infrastructure and health care is
a) Two-tier
b) Three-tier
c) Four-tier
d) Six-tier
Answer. B

Question. Which of the following is an example of social infrastructure?
a) Electricity
b) Sanitation
c) Transport
d) communication
Answer. B

Question. Indian system of medicine comprises of….. system
a) Four
b) Five
c) Six
d) Seven
Answer. C

Question. National Rural Health Mission was launched in
a) 2005
b) 2006
c) 2007
d) 2008
Answer. A

Question. An indicator used by experts to measure the number of people prematurely due to particular disease and the number of years spend by them in the state of disability is called….
a) Morbidity
b) Global burden of disease
c) Mortality rate
d) Infant mortality rate
Answer. B

Question. GDP growth and infrastructure are ……… ( directly / indirectly) proportionate.
a) Directly
b) Indirectly
c) Not
d) None of the above
Answer. A

Question. Which of the following is false regarding disguised unemployment
a) The mounting pressure of population in rural areas with no alternative employment
b) The marginal productivity of a worker is high
c) A feature of the agrarian economy
d) None
Answer. B

Question. The newly emerging jobs are found mostly in the_________ sector (service/manufacturing).
Answer. Service.

Question. An establishment with four hired workers is known as (formal/informal) ______sector establishment.
Answer. Informal.

Question. Find the odd man out (i) owner of a saloon with more than 10 employees (ii) a cobbler (iii) a cashier in Mother Dairy (iv) a tuition master (v) transport operator (vi) construction worker.
Answer. Owner of a saloon, self-employed and formal sector

Question. A person who contributes to the production of goods and services is called as a __________. ( Labour/ Worker) ( Fill up the blank with correct option)
Answer. Worker

Question. Labour force comprises worker + __________ people in a country. ( Employed / Unemployed)
Answer. Unemployed

Question. What is the female worker‘s participation rate in rural areas in India?
a) Lower
b) Higher
c) Equal
d) Earlier higher bur lower now
Answer. B

Question. In which sector workers enjoy job security? (choose the correct option)
a) Unorganized Sector
b) Organized Sector
c) Agriculture sector
d) Private Sector
Answer. C

Question. In a tertiary sector which of the following economic activity does not exist?
a) Bee-keeping
b) Teaching
c) Banking
d) Working in the Call Center
Answer. A

Question. Which type of unemployment is not found in rural India?
a) Disguised Unemployment
b) Frictional Unemployment
c) Seasonal Unemployment
d) Structural Unemployment
Answer. B

Question. What is Worker participation ratio?
Answer. Worker Participation Ratio refers to the total percentage of the total population who is truly engaging in a fruitful activity. It is also known as workers population ration. Worker Participation Ratio = Total Workers x 100 Total Population

Question. What are the three sources that collect data on unemployment?
Answer. a) Census reports of India
b) National sampler survey organization reports of employment and unemployment situations
c) Directorate general of employment and training date of registration with employment exchange

Question. Identify the correct sequence of alternatives given in Column II by matching them with respective terms in Column I:
COLUMN I                                                            COLUMN II
a. An eligible person who is searching                i) Cyclical Unemployment
for the job but fails to get it
b. A situation when people are working              ii) Structural unemployment
lesser than potential
c. More population than the capital formation     iii) Involuntary unemployment
of a country
d. Unemployment due to natural phenomenon    iv)Disguised unemployment
of inflation and deflation
Choose the correct sequence
a) iii, iv, i, ii
b) iii, iv, ii, i
c) iv, ii, i, iii
d) iv, ii, iii, i
Answer. B

Question. In last four decades (1972-201b), people have moved from self employment and regular salaried employment to casual wage work. This phenomenon is called as_________________ of workforce. ( Fill up the blank with correct answer)
Answer. Casualisation

Question. An establishment with four hired workers is known as which sector establishment.
a) Informal
b) Formal
c) Both
d) None
Answer. A

Question. Which of the following is false regarding disguised unemployment
a) The mounting pressure of population in rural areas with no alternative employment
b) The marginal productivity of a worker is high
c) A feature of the agrarian economy
d) Worker works less than its potential
Answer. B

Question. If there are about 473 million workers in the country out of which about 30 million workers in the formal sector. Estimate the percentage of people employed in the formal sectors.
a) 15.8
b) 6.3
c) 0.63
d) none
Answer. B

Question. In the early 1980s, textile mills all over the country began to close down spread over 10 years. Over this period, approximately over 80,000 permanent workers and over 50,000 non-permanent workers lost their jobs and were driven to the informal sector. This process is called as _______________ of work force. (Fill up the blank with correct answer)
Answer. Informalisation

Question. Tick mark against those which are in the informal sector i)Worker in a hotel which has seven hired workers and three family workers
ii) A private school teacher in a school which has 25 teachers iii)A police constable
iv) Nurse in a government hospital
v) Cycle-rickshaw puller
vi) The owner of a textile shop employing nine workers
vii) Driver of a bus company which has more than 10 buses with 20 drivers, conductors and other workers
viii) Civil engineer working in a construction company which has 10 workers
ix) Computer operator in the state government office working on a temporary basis
x) A clerk in the electricity office.
Answer. i), v), vi)

Question. Choose the correct pair from column I and column II
COLUMN I                                     COLUMN II
a) NABARD                               i) Set up in 1984
b) Regional Rural Banks           ii) Set up under RRB Act of 1976
c) Land Development Banks     iii) Micro credit needs of rural people
d) Self Help Group                    iv) provide long term loans on security of land
Answer. b), ii)

Question. Supply of labour is measured in terms of_______________.
Answer. man days of work.

Question. Who is a worker?
Answer. All people who are engaged in economic activities in whatever capacity are called workers.

Question. Define worker-population ratio.
Answer. The percentage of number of workers in respect to total population is called worker-population ratio.

Question. Are the following workers — a beggar, a thief, a smuggler, a gambler? Why?
Answer. These are not examples of workers because although they are earning their livelihood but they are not doing economic activities. Activities of a thief, a smuggler and a gambler are illegal activities and thus they are doing crimes. A beggar is proving to be a liability for the society as he is not contributing towards economic development of the society.

Question. Find the odd man out (i) owner of a saloon
(ii) a cobbler
(iii) a cashier in Mother Dairy
(iv) a tuition master
(v) transport operator
(vi) construction worker.
Answer. A cashier in Mother dairy is different from all others because the cashier is working in a regular salaried job.

Question. The newly emerging jobs are found mostly in the sector (service/manufacturing).
Answer. Service Sector

Question. An establishment with four hired workers is known as (formal/informal) sector establishment.
Answer. Informal sector

Question. Raj is going to school. When he is not in school, you will find him working in his farm. Can you consider him as a worker? Why?
Answer. Raj can be considered as a worker because he is contributing towards productivity of his farm.

Question. Compared to urban women, more rural women are found working. Why?
Answer. Women in rural areas often work in various farming processes; like harvesting and threshing. We know that farming processes need more number of workforce and this need can only be met with participation of women workers as well. Following are the reasons:
i) Poverty: In rural areas people are more poor, so in order to feed the family women are bound to work. Only one person‘s income is insufficient.
ii) Illiteracy among women: Sometimes, it is cost saving for the farm owner to hire a female worker because female workers are paid less than male workers. In urban areas women work less as compared to women. Main reasons are
iii) Patriarchal system: In urban areas, most of the people work in regular salaried jobs and as self employed. In well off families, women do not prefer to do the job, so urban women restrict themselves doing job.
iv)Social Stigma: Another important fact is the prevalent mindset which sees women in their traditional role of a housewife. These are the reasons, more rural women are found working compared to urban women.

Question. Meena is a housewife. Besides taking care of household chores, she works in the cloth shop which is owned and operated by her husband. Can she be considered as a worker? Why?
Answer. When she is working in the cloth shop, she is doing an economic activity and hence she can be considered as a worker.

Question. Find the odd man out (i) rickshaw puller who works under a rickshaw owner (ii) mason (iii) mechanic shop worker (iv) shoeshine boy.
Answer. The shoeshine boy is different because he is a self-employed person.

Question. Why are regular salaried employees more in urban areas than in rural areas?
Answer. In most of the villages, offices or factories are not established and hence there are negligible regular salaried jobs in rural areas. The situation is just opposite in urban areas. Hence, regular salaried employees are more in urban areas than in rural areas.

Question. Why are less women found in regular salaried employment?
Answer. There are many reasons for low representation of women in regular salaried employment.
 i) Division of work: Deep rooted social beliefs are the main reason which segregate women‘s work as homemakers who are not supposed to venture out of their homes. Even though women are educated they prefer work at less wages.
ii) Low female literacy: Female literacy level is still below the male literacy level which means a less number of women are properly qualified and skilled to get a regular salaried job.
 iii) Patriarchal System of Society: On the other hand, a male is expected to earn a livelihood so that he can support his family and thus a boy is mentally conditioned since his childhood to do something. A regular salaried job usually ensures a better social recognition and hence most of the unemployed first try to land a regular salaried job.

Question. Analyse the recent trends in sectoral distribution of workforce in India.
Answer. Distribution of workforce by industrial sectors shows substantial shift from farm work to non-farm work (see Table 7.c).
- Primary sector: In 1972-73, about 74 per cent of workforce was engaged in primary sector and in 2011-12, this proportion has declined to about 50 per cent.
- Secondary sector‘s contribution was about 11% in 1972-73 , its share has increased from 11 to 24% in 2011-12. It showed at least 12% increase, which is a good transformation.
- Tertiary sector‘s contribution raised tremendously from 15% to 27% from 1972-73 to 2011-12. .
Since independence, distribution of workforce in primary sector has declined to some extent but this decline is not significant. While the share of secondary sector in the GDP has grown, this sector has failed to generate employment in that ratio. The tertiary sector has grown quite significantly both in terms of contribution to GDP and employment generation. However, even the tertiary sector has failed to generate enough employment so that the load on primary sector could be reduced.

Question. Compared to the 1970s, there has hardly been any change in the distribution of workforce across various industries. Comment.
Answer. There have been major changes in terms of share of different sectors in employment generation; as shown by data discussed in previous question‘s answer. However, self-employment continues to be the major employment provider. The ratio of self employed workers to total population has reduced marginally from 61% in 1970s to 51% 2010. The ratio of regular salaried employees has remained static at 15% during this period. But the most disheartening fact is the increase in ratio of casual workers which increased from 23% to 33% during this period. This shows that although the economy has grown but we are moving from salaried employment and self employment towards casual employment. Some economists argue this as jobless growth.

Question. Do you think that in the last 50 years, employment generated in the country is commensurate with the growth of GDP in India? How?
Answer. In the last 50 years, employment generation in India is not commensurate with the growth of GDP. This can be understood by one of the graphs given in this chapter. The GDP growth was about 3.5% during 1950s and it grew at a healthy rate of more than 8% in 2010. Employment generation was 0.39% in the 1950s and it maintained some semblance of growth between 1960s and 1990s. But by the second half of the 2010s, employment generation nosedived to very low rate.

Question. Is it necessary to generate employment in the formal sector rather than in the informal sector? Why?
Answer. The formal sector not only provides employment but also several social security benefits. A worker in the formal sector gets higher salary and social security benefits. Various social security benefits that the worker can be assured of better quality of life when he becomes old or physically disabled. After the life of a worker, his family members can be assured of a decent life. The situation is totally opposite in the informal sector where even regular salary is a dream for most of the workers. Hence, it is necessary to generate employment in the formal sector rather than in the informal sector.

Question. Victor is able to get work only for two hours in a day. Rest of the day, he is looking for work. Is he unemployed? Why? What kind of jobs could persons like Victor be doing?
Answer. According to definition, if a person is able to get at least two hours job in a day then that person is considered as an employed person. Hence, Victor cannot be termed as unemployed. But since he is looking for work for the rest of the day, it can be assumed that he is not getting enough from two hours‘ work. Another definition terms the unemployed as person who keeps on looking for work because he does not have enough work. According to this definition, Victor is unemployed. Victor may be doing some part time job; like supplying milk in the morning or distributing newspaper or pamphlets.

Question. You are residing in a village. If you are asked to advice the village panchayat, what kinds of activities would you suggest for the improvement of your village which would also generate employment.
Answer. I will suggest increasing the scope for alternate sources of livelihood. The farmers should be educated and trained in food processing or in animal husbandry or horticulture. People can also be trained in various handicrafts so that cottage industry can be started in the village. These steps would help in improving employment opportunities in the village.

Question. Who is a casual wage labourer?
Answer. A worker who does not get a regular salaried job and is neither self employed is termed a casual wage labourer. A casual wage labourer may not get work on a regular basis. Although the government prescribes minimum wages for such workers but most of them are unable to get even the minimum wages.

Question. How will you know whether a worker is working in the informal sector?
Answer. If the worker is not getting social security benefits then it is clear that he working in the informal sector. Pension, gratuity and provident fund are the major tools for providing social security net.

Very Short Answer Questions 

1. Define GDP

2. What is to be added to GDP in order to get GNP?

3. Define worker population ratio mean?

4. Who is a worker?

5. What is meant by casualisation of work force?

6. What is informalisation of work force?

Short Answer Questions 

1. Why is worker population ratio high in rural areas?

2. How are workers in an industry according to their status in which they are placed in an enterprise?

3. How are economic activities divided into different industrial divisions?

4. Discuss how growth of GDP and growth of employment related in India.

5. Give a brief account on the effect of informalisation of Indian work force.

6. What are the major types of employment that exist in Indian economy? State the meaning of each

Long Answer Questions

1. Briefly explain the major employment generation programme introduced by government of India

2. Compared to urban women, more rural women are found working. Why?

3. Why are regular salaried employees more in urban areas than in rural areas?

NCERT text book questions:

1. Who is a casual wage labourer?

2. Is it necessary to generate employment in the formal sector rather than in the informal sector? Why?

3. Do you think that in the last 50 years, employment generated in the country is commensurate with the growth of GDP in India? How?

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