Inclusion and Growth in India: Some facts, Some conclusions

In the main, this study uses the large sample National Sample Surveys (NSS) for the years 1983, 1993/94, 1999/2000, and 2004/5. There are two surveys that the NSS conducts in each of the large sample years – a consumption and expenditure (CE) survey, and an employment and unemployment (EU) survey. Until 1993, the households surveyed by the CE and EU surveys were identical. In addition to the eight surveys mentioned above, the recently released small sample (half of large sample) CE and EU surveys for 2007/8 are also used. These NSS surveys provide a rich, and exhaustive, basis for examining the inclusive nature of growth. The NSS does not conduct any income distribution surveys but the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has been conducting such surveys since the mid 1960s. Data for three such surveys have been released – 1975/76, 1994/95 and 2004/5. These data are also used along with state level GDP data from 1980 onwards.