EMPLOYMENT – GROWTH, INFORMALISATION AND RELATED ISSUES
(Q & A)
Q1: Who is a worker?
Answer: People work for earning their livelihood. A person who is involved in production activity contributing to the flow of goods and services in the economy is called a worker. In other words, a worker is regarded as an economic agent who contributes to the production of goods and services, thereby, to the GDP during a particular year. A worker renders services to others and receives rewards in the form of wages, salaries or in kind. Hence, we can say that when an individual is engaged in a production activity or self-employed and contributes to the generation of GDP, then, that person is referred to as a worker. For example, a doctor, an engineer working in a factory, etc.
Q2: Are the following workers — a beggar, a thief, a smuggler, a gambler? Why?
Answer: No, a beggar, a thief, a smuggler, a gambler cannot be called as workers. A worker is involved in a production activity that contributes to the GDP of a country. As none of them (a beggar, a thief, a smuggler and a gambler) are involved in any legal economic production activity that contributes to the national income of the country, hence, none of them can be regarded as workers.
