Study of fatal burns cases in Kanpur (India)

Epidemiological and medicolegal, including forensic pathological, aspects of 180 cases of fatal burns were studied in Kanpur (India) during the period of one year (October 1985 to September 1986). These constituted 10.79% of the total medicolegal deaths autopsied. Majority of the victims were young Hindu housewives burnt within 5 years of their marriage. The most common source of fire was cooking apparatus like chulha, coalfire, stove or cooking gas. In a substantial number of cases, kerosene oil was poured over the victims and fired with a match stick. About half of the burn cases were accidental, in which cooking on open unguarded flames and loose highly inflammable synthetic sarees of the victims can be blamed. Among the others who died in suspicious circumstances, i.e., burnt alive or forced to commit suicide by fire, dowry and family quarrels and marital disharmony were the two important predisposing factors. Illiteracy, arranged and child marriages, joint family structure, oedipal dominance of mother-in-laws, unemployment and economic dependence of the husband on the parents, near complete dependence of women on their husbands and inlaws, and lack of social security amongst Hindu females were other contributory factors affecting the incidence in some way. Male burn deaths were few and usually accidental.     

Migrant Networks in the Urban Labour Market: Evidence from India

This paper analyses the informal channels of the job search process through migrant networks in the urban labour markets in developing countries. Using a novel approach and nationwide sample survey, we measure various aspects of migrant networks such as size, diversity, efficiency and experience content and estimate their effect on probability of employment. Our findings suggest that migrant stock (having experience content) has an inverted-U relationship with the probability of finding a job for a migrant. The share of employed workers in a migrant network (efficiency) and different origin identity (diversity) positively affect the employment outcome through weak ties. Further, the migrant network effect is more active in larger cities as compared to smaller urban areas. The implications of this study indicate towards the importance of non-market informal channels in job searches and the need for integrating labour markets to harness the benefits of larger positive network externalities.