Village-Based Informal Ericulture and Endi-Textiles in Assam: An Economic Inquiry

-- Utpal Kumar De and Manjit Das

Sericulture provides immense scope for self-employment as majority of the rearers of Assam are poor and the question of hired labor hardly arises. Generally, all the working members of the rearing families work together to complete the rearing processes. Within the sericulture sector, ericulture has been practised by a majority of families. It requires comparatively less investment, involves low risk and thus can be easily carried out by the poor villagers. Therefore, the exact number of people engaged in ericulture cannot be approximated correctly. Moreover, as it is a part-time occupation it is very difficult to estimate the generation of man-hours or man-days per unit of output exactly from the secondary data.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Economic Behavior of Small Scale Industries in Meghalaya: An Econometric Analysis

-- Nirankar Srivastav and Rickey A J Syngkon

The active role played by the small scale industries in the process of development of modern economies has now widely accepted. This paper makes an in depth analysis of the major characteristics and development of SSI sector in Meghalaya, a state located in the North-Eastern region of India. In the process, size distribution, classification, characteristics of different categories of labor, firm size and organization have been dealt with to study the role of labor, capital and technology as productive resources for SSI. Efforts have also been made to identify the determinants of output and to evaluate its relationship with inputs like labor and capital. At the first stage, these issues have to be ascertained for the aggregate level, i.e., for the SSI sector as a whole and at the disaggregated level, i.e., at the subsector level. All indicators of industrialization reveal that the state economy is a simple economy where emergence of small scale sector in a significant manner has begun in the last thirty years only, where large and medium scale industries are yet to develop. SSIs are showing decreasing returns to scale. The reason for this is that manufacturing industries are dominated by household goods industries and agro and forest based industries. The minimum size for efficiency in these industries tends to be relatively small. The state economy is passing through a preliminary stage of `industrialization', where the full advantage of technology and economies of scale are not being enjoyed by the existing SSIs. As a policy measure, it is recommended that additional manufacturing industries are developed in the state, as this would lead to the full exploitation of economies of scale and technical advantages to put the state economy on rapid growth trajectories.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Problems of Leather Entrepreneurs

-- S M Uvaneshwaran, L Manaivanann and T Devasenathpathi

Leather entrepreneurs are one of the largest foreign exchange earners of our country, who unfailingly give a boost to the national economy and per capita income. Leather industry provides more employment opportunities to the backward communities. Even so, the industry is facing innumerable problems in the functional areas due to the banning of slaughtering of animals in the name of sacrifice, and safeguarding the poor that has resulted in the closure of many units in Tamil Nadu especially in Erode District. The goat skins available in Erode are considered to be of the best quality in the world. There are 62 tannery units in Erode, out of which only 42 units are functional, and the rest are closed by the pollution board due to some environmental problems. Besides, leather entrepreneurs are facing a lot of problems in the areas of production, processing, marketing, finance and personnel. This study attempted to identify the common problems faced by the leather entrepreneurs. For this purpose, data were collected through questionnaires and analyzed using Henry Garret Technique. This study identifies the most important problems in each functional area such as inadequate funds to construct water effluent treatment plants, delay in payment by the buyers, slow process in sanctioning funds by bankers, unauthorized labor absenteeism, poor quality of equipments and government restrictions.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

MSME Scenario in Ethiopia: An Entrepreneurial Perspective

-- Viju Mathew and Friday O Okpara

Entrepreneurship Education in Ethiopia should focus on the development of man/woman as that will change his/her generation through social, political, and economic activities and transform the society with the creation of viable and feasible micro and small enterprises. Today, knowledge is the foundation and measurement of economic potential and economic power. Education is therefore the current "nuclear reactor" that can propel any nation to greater heights. The new order demands renewed dynamism of approach. Entrepreneurship Education is the new name of the game.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Study of Entrepreneurial Motivations in India

-- Monika Prakash and Nimit Chowdhary

Economy in the subcontinent has witnessed greater market economy like never before. Having realized the importance of small and medium sized initiatives in developing the economy, regional planners have initiated several interventions. Entrepreneurial drive amongst youth is considered an important factor for the socio-economic development of community and country. This paper highlights the results of the study of entrepreneurial motivations amongst young start-ups. Having provided the necessary insight this study leads to design corresponding intervention strategies. Based on the primary data collected, this paper attempts to discuss what has motivated the youth to take up self-employment and whether such motivation is positive of negative. In either case, support programs such as educational, rearing and counselling, financial support and social security are needed to be introduced by the state and other agencies. This study is based on a sample from Northern India. The research and findings can be expanded to other regions in subsequent efforts to understand the community milieu and develop an intervention strategy accordingly.

© 2007 IUP . All Rights Reserved.

Research Summary

Family Firms and Social Responsibility: Preliminary Evidence from the S&P 500

-- Summarized by Romina Mathew

This study builds its premise on conflicting arguments regarding why family firms are likely to be more or less socially responsible than non-family firms. Comparing the corporate social performance data of 261 firms (59 family firms and 202 non-family firms) from the S&P 500 during the years 1991-2000, the findings suggest that family firms are likely to be more socially responsible actors than the non-family firms in order to protect their image and reputation.

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