Levels of living of woman labour households in rural Punjab: An empirical study

Based on primary data collected from 1017 woman labour households spread over the three geographical regions of Punjab, the study brought out that the levels of living of these households very low. A large majority of the respondents were were living in semipucca houses and most of their houses were in dilapidated condition. The woman labour households, on an average, earned 77198.48, and spent 85621.77 annually in the rural areas of Punjab. Out of the total consumption expenditure, 57.34 percent was spent on non-durable items. Because of the excess of consumption expenditure over the household income, the average propensity to consume worked out to be 1.11 for an average woman labour household. As a result, an average household in the sample incurred a deficit. The study revealed that a large majority (93.71 percent)of the woman labour households were under debt. The average amount of debt per household was recorded at 53916.45. The estimated value of their household assets worked out to be 132386.26 out of which 62.93 percent was only shared by the dwelling houses. To improve the economic conditions of woman labour households, the central and state governments must take strong initiatives for creating sufficient employment opportunities and should effectively implement the policies meant for them.