Panel presentation :

Economic, political, and social changes occurring in South Asia over the past decades have led to the reorganization of labour structures. In India for instance, a rapid urbanization characterized by increased linkages between urban and rural areas, an on-going shift from agriculture towards industry and services and significant increases in educational attainment have reshaped the traditional rural labour market and created new forms of labour relationships. Still, the individual remains embedded in traditional societal structures, institutions and norms which affect labour outcomes and mobilities, oftentimes by constraining them. Social networks, the social structure of individuals and organisations that are tied together through interdependencies, such as kinship, friendship, values or beliefs, encompass a much broader group of connections and can hence be the missing piece to explain societal change and mobilities.

Thus, in this panel, we aim to explore how the formation of skills and social networks influences the characteristics of individual and collective trajectories in terms of social status, employment, and rural-rural and rural-urban migrations. What is the effect of social networks on labour market outcomes? Do social networks enable individuals to overcome societal constraints and traditional structures or do they reinforce the traditional system? What is the role of individuals' skills versus traditional structures and networks in determining labour outcomes? Do social networks hinder or reinforce social, geographical and intergenerational mobilities? To what degree do networks and mobilities interact to change rural hierarchies?

This panel focus on survey data analysis with mixed methods to look at the linkages between skills, labour outcomes, social networks, and mobilities in rural areas in India. This includes using quantitative survey data as well as qualitative survey approaches.