FDI in India's Retail Trade: Some Additional Issues

by Dipankar Dey. Aspects of India's Economy No. 43

Opponents of the entry of foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail trade generally point to its adverse impact on employment. This is indeed an important issue, as around 40 million people are engaged in retail trade in India, and even a small percentage loss of employment in this sector amounts to lakhs of unemployed. At the same time, we need to take note of certain other issues as well, in particular the nature of the relations which international retailing giants establish with their suppliers, and their implications for workers and cultivators in countries like India.

Available for download at http://www.rupe-india.org/43/contents.html