Lives, Livelihoods and the Economy: India in Pandemic Times
- PDF / 338,169 Bytes
- 7 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 63 Downloads / 171 Views
Lives, Livelihoods and the Economy: India in Pandemic Times Deepak Nayyar1,2 Published online: 8 October 2020 © Indian Society of Labour Economics 2020
The objective of this essay is to analyze the implications and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for lives, livelihoods and the economy in India. Its focus is on two propositions. First, it argues that saving lives and preserving livelihoods are imperatives, since both taken together shape the well-being of people, and it is for the government to reconcile these objectives instead of letting it be posed as an either-or choice creating a false dilemma. Second, it discusses how the draconian and prolonged lockdown has dealt a crippling blow to the economy placing a disproportionate burden on the poor, while the grossly inadequate response of the government has made the task of recovery even more difficult.
1 Lives and Livelihoods The draconian nationwide lockdown in India started on March 25, 2020. It was meant to end on 14 April, but was extended three times until 3 May, 17 May and 31 May. For governments everywhere, more so after the experience of Italy, Spain, the UK and the USA where governments did too little too late, imposing and continuing lockdowns was the obvious risk-averse strategy. If the spread could be restrained and managed, the success would bring political dividends. If the spread continued unabated or worsened, the microbe would take the blame for the failure. It became the equivalent of a one-way option in financial markets, tempting political leaders to think that they could not lose. This became even more attractive over time as it conformed to herd behavior by governments worldwide. Exit from a lockdown, then, posed a real dilemma for governments. It called for decision making under high uncertainty, requiring courage that needs both conviction and confidence.
* Deepak Nayyar [email protected] 1
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India
2
Indian Society of Labour Economics, New Delhi, India
13
Vol.:(0123456789) ISLE
S54
The Indian Journal of Labour Economics (2020) 63 (Suppl 1):S53–S59
This dilemma becomes larger than life when governments emphasize saving lives in a pandemic as their primary if not sole objective. Of course, the objective of saving lives is, in itself, unexceptionable. But it must also be recognized that the health of people and the health of an economy are interdependent, where both, taken together, shape the well-being of people. Thus, saving livelihoods is an equally important objective. In fact, the relationship between lives and livelihoods is circular. If lives are saved and, in doing so, livelihoods are sacrificed, it threatens lives of people who are deprived of incomes and hence unable to meet their basic human needs. This could lead to widespread hunger, reduced immunity and lost lives. Obviously, getting sick and going hungry cannot be an either-or choice. Everyone would want to stay healthy and be well fed. It is the role of governments to strike a balance and reconcile these two ob
Data Loading...
