This paper is an att empt to extend the dialogue on the nature of commuting between rural and urban areas and its implications for labour market outcomes in rural and urban India. We show that over the period 2004-2005 to 2011-2012, the magnitude of commuting workers has not changed but the composition has changed with reduction in rural no fi xed place workers and increase in urban-no fi xed place workers. We further highlight that rural-urban commuting can be considered mobility for bett er opportunities on account of diversifi cation of livelihood strategy and underemployment in rural areas.

Ajay Sharma

Economics

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IIM Indore

Built Environment

This chapter contributes to the discussion on rural-urban interaction by focusing on daily commuting across rural and urban areas. Using the nationally representative survey on employment and unemployment, we provide an estimate of rural-urban and urban–rural commuting at the national and sub-national levels. We also highlight the phenomenon of workers who are tied to non-fixed places; they are also known as footloose workers. To complement the findings from the national survey, we provide insights from a small primary survey conducted in West Bengal, to support the understanding of the distance travelled by commuters, the modes of transport used and the job search process for daily commuters (especially workers attached to non-fixed places).

Subaltern Urbanisation in India

Commuting workers and the integration of the rural-urban economy

Unlike migration, scant attention has been paid to the phenomenon of commuting by workers in developing countries. This paper fills this gap by using a nationally representative data set from India to analyze factors that affect the decision of workers to commute across rural and urban areas daily. Our results suggest that regions with large peripheral urban areas or concentration of secondary sector jobs are more likely to have commuting workers. Regional rural and urban unemployment rates and rural-urban wage differentials are important push and pull factors in the decision to commute. 	extcopyright 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Journal	Built Environment
Publisher	Alexandrine Press
ISSN	0263-7960
Open Access	0