Globalization has affected a change across the regions of the world and India is no exception. The national economy has become far more integrated with the global economy now. However, there are large parts of the underdeveloped regions that suffer from endemic underdevelopment. The north-eastern region is one such region. The relevance of Globalisation in the context of the North-Eastern Region of India has additional implications in terms of social and political integration. The most important characteristic of the north-eastern region is that all the constituent units (states) are relatively closed ethnic groups. All the states in the region share porous international border. Consequently, both product and factor markets in these states have some international dimension. Given the socioeconomic and geopolitical dimensions in the region, the prevailing pattern of development in these states has also culminated in the form of social unrest and degradation of economic values. This clearly implies that the development policies and programmes have fallen short of meeting the social and economic aspirations of the indigenous population in the region. In this context, the question that arises is how the forces of Globalization and economic growth could be combined together to address the implicit and most relevant questions associated with migration, unemployment and development of trading activities in the perspective of North-Eastern Region of India. Contents Acknowledgement vii Foreword ix List of Contributors xi Introduction (Amaresh Dubey, M. Satish Kumar, Nirankar Srivastav and Eugene D. Thomas) 15 1. Are migrants worse or Better off? Asking the Right Questions 27 – Arjan de Haan and Amaresh Dubey 2. Migration in the North Eastern Region of India : Some Issues 55 – Amaresh Dubey, Smita Das and Veronica Pala 3. Globalisation, Trade and the Issues of Employment : 93 Case from Small Scale Tea Plantations in Assam – Kalyan Das 4. The Employment Situation in the North-Eastern region of India : 115 A Gender Perspective – Smita Das, Amaresh Dubey and Veronica Pala 5. The Nonfarm Sector in the Rural North-Eastern Region of India : 147 Some Correlates and Determinants – Veronica Pala, Smita Das and Amaresh Dubey 6. Structure and Trends in the Informal Sector : 171 A Case of North-East India – M. Satish Kumar 7. Development of Service sector : Is There Any Hope for 247 the Economies of North-Eastern States of India – Nirankar Srivastav 8. Border Trade with Bangladesh and Pre-Investment Feasibility : 265 Economic Prospects of North Eastern Region – Saundariya Borbora and Ratul Mahanta 9. Border Trade in Mizoram : An Economic Spatial Analysis 291 – B.S. Mipun and Charles Romalswama 10. Locations, Economic Growth and Trade : Recent Economic 325 Trends in South Asia – A.C. Mohapatra and Josojit Dey 11. Globalisation and the Challenge of Poverty, Unemployment and 345 Social Sector Development in North-Eastern States – Sudhakar Panda 12. Poverty and Inequality Among the North-Eastern States During 365 1980s and 1990s – Amaresh Dubey, Orester J. Kharpuri and Eugene D. Thomas 13. Globalisation and its Employment Implications for the 381 North-East – E. Bijoykumar Singh 14. Economic Reforms and Prospects of Developing Nature-based 405 Tourism in North-East India : A Study on Arunachal Pradesh – Amitava Mitra 15. Globalisation and Its Relevance for the North-Eastern 421 Region of India – A.K. Agarwal