Are the elderly economically dependent in India: An analysis from census data

The research article focuses on the pattern of workforce participation among the elderly force in India. The study examinesthe growth rateand sectorial changes in the elderly workforce. It also attempts to understand the linkages between the developmental process and workforce pattern of elders across the country. The analysis is based on census data of 1991, 2001, and 2011. The significance of the study lies in its attempt to understand the economic participation of older people as they are often considered as dependent populations and often remain out of the purview of scholarly research. Further, the study also focuses on how the structural changes at the macro-level affect the workforce participation of older people. The findings indicate that the elderly workforce also follows a similar pattern of normal workforce participation. An emerging trend of marginalization of the elderly workforce and declining growth rate of elderly non-workers is also noted. Sectorial changes with decreasing growth rate of cultivators in the elderly workforce and increasing growth rate in other sectors are noted. The paper negates the idea of the elderly as an economically dependent category of populations.