ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

Articles by P D JeromiSubscribe to P D Jeromi

Farmers' Indebtedness and Suicides

The experience of Kerala during the past decade shows how and to what extent a traditional export-oriented agricultural sector in a small local economy can suffer due to trade liberalisation sans any safety nets and comprehensive restructuring programmes. With a decline in exports, rise in imports and a consequent drop in prices, coupled with frequent droughts, stagnant production and productivity, farm income declined drastically and increased the indebtedness of farmers. A sad manifestation of the severity of the situation was the widespread suicides by farmers in the state. This article examines the factors leading to the farm crisis, the rise in indebtedness and various dimensions of farmer suicides.

Tyranny of Distance

The Lakshadweep economy is in a low level equilibrium trap as it continues to suffer from the "tyranny of distance" and a fragile ecology. A host of factors such as lack of drinking water, low carrying capacity of islands, high cost of transportation, lack of infrastructural facilities, security considerations, etc, are putting limits on the growth of the economy.

Economic Reforms in Kerala

Economic reforms in Kerala were at a snail?s pace till the fiscal crisis of the state in 2001. Over the past four years, the state government has initiated a number of measures to accelerate economic growth. Taking into consideration mid-2001 to mid-2004 as the first phase of the reform period, this paper examines the impact of reforms on the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy and the reasons for the failure of some reforms due to the political, social and cultural environment, a lack of consensus, poor implementation and follow-up.

What Ails Kerala's Economy:A Sectoral Exploration

The `Kerala model' of development has been facing a serious crisis due to low growth, high cost, low productivity, low investment and low employment in the state economy. This paper analyses the performance of major sectors of the state economy, such as agriculture, industry and the financial sector, during the past two decades and brings out the problems they confront. The paper highlights the lack of a development strategy in Kerala for growth and employment generation.

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