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The book deals with the relationship between the State, labour and development in the contemporary India as of now at the first decade of the 21st century in the era of liberalization, privatization and globalization. It contains as many as 22 articles exploring the theme. The articles are written by 20 committed and dedicated labour economists from India, one from Australia and one from Nepal. The papers deal with both theoretical and empirical issues, general issues as well as specific issues and case studies. The papers include areas like the evolution of labour movement in a global perspective and in the Indian perspectives areas like labour market flexibility, labour laws, wages determination, the problems of migrant labours, social security for both employed and unemployed labour and the old aged, child labour, minimum wages, problems of the unorganized sector labour and agricultural labour and a comparative study of the rise of neo-liberal labour market reforms in India, Indonesia, the United States and Australia during recent decades. It is hoped that the book will be of utility to the researchers and policy makers alike in the field of labour in India in particular and that of developing countries in general. About Author : Dr. K. K. Bagchi is currently Professor and Head at the Department of Economics, North Bengal University, Raja Rammohunpur, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. He has a wide teaching experience at undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels. He is also supervising research works of students at M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels. His main fields of interest are Agricultural Economics, Development Economics and Labour Economics. He has till date to his credit 12 research articles published in various national and international journals and two text books at undergraduate level and six books as research publications. He has also presented a number of papers at University, state, national and international level Workshops, Seminars and Conferences. Mr. N. Gope is Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, Dinhata College, Dinhata, Dist. Cooch Behar, Wet Bengal, India. He has attended several University, State, national and international level Seminars, Workshops and Conferences and presented papers. He has undergone rigorous training on Research Methodology in Labour Economics in V. V. Giri National Labour Institute, NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh, India in 2004. His main fields of interest are International Economics and Labour Economics. Till now he has published 3 articles in refereed journals. Recently he has submitted his Ph.D. thesis on informal sector labour in the University of North Bengal under the supervision of Prof. K. K. Bagchi, Department of Economics, North Bengal University. Contents : Preface & Acknowledgements Introduction--K.K. Bagchi & Nirupam Gope State, Market and Labour The Labour Movement and The State: A Global Perspective State Intervention and Labour Market in India: Issues and Options State, Market and Labour: An Indian Experience Wage Policy for Public Sector Employees in India Are Retrenchment Laws Inefficient? Growth of Labour Productivity, Wage Share and Total Factor Productivity in Organised Manufacturing During 1981-89: The Experience of West Bengal Irresponsible State, Predatory Capital and Vulnerable Labour: Evidences from India Neo-Liberal Labour Market Reforms and Work Stoppages: Comparisons of India, Indonesia, United States and Australia Restructuring and Employment Adjustment, Japanese Experience: Lessons for India Protection of Labour Rights: An Appraisal of Labour Laws in Nepal State, Migrant Workers and Ethnic Polarisation: The Case of North-East India Social Security for Old Aged People in India Social Security for the Unemployed in India Social Security for Domestic Workers: A Case Study State and Home-workers: A Study of Legislation for Beedi Workers in India State Activism in 'Labour' Market: A Study of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Kerala State and Unorganised Labour: The Orissa Scenario Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986--Its Objectives and Outcomes Labour Standards in the Times of Globalisation: A Case of Implementing Minimum Wages Labour Employment in Punjab Agriculture and the State Policies Effective Labour Management Relations in a Public Sector Giant Contributors Index