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    Gender, poverty and old-age livelihoods in urban south India in an era of globalisation

    Vera-Sanso, Penny (2012) Gender, poverty and old-age livelihoods in urban south India in an era of globalisation. Oxford Development Studies 40 (3), pp. 324-340. ISSN 1360-0818.

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    Abstract

    This article examines how older women's work in the informal economy contributes to family, national and global economies. It is argued here that protecting and promoting older women's livelihoods will not only serve the interests of older women, but will also have much wider social and economic significance. Drawing on fieldwork undertaken over the past two decades in urban South India, this article demonstrates that among the poorest families, rather than being dependent on spouse or family, older women are often self-supporting, support husbands and subsidise the incomes of younger relatives. Older women's work not only helps reduce family poverty, but is also critical to the distribution of agricultural produce in urban areas and supports India's global competitiveness. This article identifies how state and market responses to liberalisation and globalisation are threatening older women's livelihoods while failing to provide adequate safety nets for older women or their families.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
    Research Centres and Institutes: Gender and Sexuality, Birkbeck (BiGS), Social Research, Birkbeck Institute for (BISR)
    Depositing User: Administrator
    Date Deposited: 17 May 2013 10:22
    Last Modified: 02 Aug 2023 17:04
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/6839

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