Economics
Scopus Indexed Journals

1. Kannan, K. P., & Hari, K. S. (2020). Revisiting Kerala's Gulf Connection: Half a Century of Emigration, Remittances and Their Macroeconomic Impact, 1972-2020. The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-020-00280-z
Abstract :  This paper is an attempt to fulfil this gap by estimating foreign remittances to Kerala for a period of 47 years that is close to half a century. Using these data, the paper has presented a Modified State Income for Kerala and calculated its impact on consumption and savings. The significance of the sizable emigration to the labour market situation has also been highlighted.
The results show an increasing trend in inequality. Despite a high growth performance aided by remittances, Kerala has not been able to address its longstanding problem of educated unemployment, especially for its women.
2. Chathukulam, J., & Tharamangalam, J. (2020). The Kerala Model in the Time of COVID19: Rethinking State, Society and Democracy. World Development 137. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105207
Abstract  : Kerala has been celebrated as a development model by scholars across the world for its exemplary achievements in human development and poverty reduction despite relatively low GDP growth. It was no surprise  that the COVID-19 pandemic that hit Kerala before any other part of India, became a test case for the Kerala model in dealing with such a crisis. Kerala was lauded across the world once again as a success story in containing this unprecedented pandemic, in treating those infected, and in making needed provisions for those adversely affected by the lockdown.
But as it turned out, this celebration was premature as Kerala soon faced a third wave of COVID-19 infections. The objective of this paper is to examine Kerala's trajectory in achieving the success and then confronting the unanticipated reversal. It will examine the legacy of the Kerala model such as robust and decentralized institutions and provisions for healthcare, welfare and safety nets, and especially the capacity of a democratic state working in synergy with civil society and enjoying a high degree of consensus and public trust.
3.Thomas, L., & Dinesh, V. (2020). Economics of pineapple cultivation under climate variability in Kerala, India.. Plant Archives, 20(2), 3292-3295.
Abstract: Pineapple is a plant which can survive in most of the climatic conditions except severe frost and drought. But the quality of the fruit is affected by temperature variation,  which leads to price fluctuation.  The objectives of the study are to analyse different climatic conditions like rainfall and temperature variation on pineapple cultivation in Kerala. Secondary data for the last few years has been collected from various sources to evaluate the relation between these two. It was found that changes in climate condition has a significant impact on pineapple cultivation, price fluctuation and diseases during the flowering stage.
4. Menon, D. V., & Vadakepat, V. M. (2020). Migration and reverse migration: Gulf-Malayalees' perceptions during the Covid-19 pandemic. South Asian Diaspora, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1080/19438192.2020.1820668
Abstract  : The United Arab Emirates has witnessed an exodus of long-term non-resident Indians, especially Keralites, due to unforeseen impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Emirates' consequent economic setbacks, including a fear of the virus and falling job and financial security, threatened the survival of Indians-the largest expatriate demographic in the world and the Emirates.
While apprehensive about their homeland's ability to accommodate a mass reverse migrant population, the reverse migrants still retained attributes and values they associated with migration to the Emirates. Since the UAE hosts the largest number of Keralites in the world, the sample for this study comprises the first batch of Gulf-Malayalees who had registered to return to Kerala.
Through a means-end approach, this study reviews respondents' attributes, consequences, and values at the time of migration and compares it with their perceptions during the sudden COVID-19-related reverse migration from the United Arab Emirates.
5. Sabu, S. S., Kuruvila, A., & Subash, S. P. (2020).  Price Volatility of Black Pepper in Kerala: Could Institutional Mechanism such as Contract Agreement be a Solution? Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics 75(2)
Abstract : Black pepper  is a highly traded commodity and prone to price fluctuation. The  paper focuses on the extent of volatility in prices of black pepper at the macro-level and explores at micro level whether an institutional support such as a contract agreement could be a solution to the problem of price volatility.
The study shows that the intra-annual volatility indices for black pepper prices decreased marginally after trade liberalisation in India, whereas the inter-annual volatility has increased in the post-liberalisation era. These fluctuating prices increase the uncertainty faced by the farmers in their planting decisions and in earning reasonable as well as stable returns. The study also identified disease and pest incidence as the major constraint in black pepper production, whereas price volatility ranked to be the fourth constraint. The study also analysed the effect of an institutional contract agreement by comparing the outcomes such as price received, net-income and replanting decisions.
6. Ramachandran, M. T., & Das, A. (2020). Collective farming and women's livelihoods: a case study of Kudumbashree group cultivation. Canadian Journal of Development Studies/Revue canadienne d'études du développement, 41(3), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/02255189.2020.1799764
Abstract: This study estimates crop productivity and incomes from crop production for women farmers undertaking collective farming with the Kudumbashree organisation. The method used to collect data on farm incomes broadly follows the  Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices [ CACP]  methodology for calculating costs. The unit of our study will be the Joint Liability Group (JLG). The study aims to delineate the reasons for differential performances amongst the groups and to see whether these groups are successful as a viable alternative to individual farming and whether they can realise the theoretical advantages of group cultivation.
Other journal articles
1. Joseph, J. (2020). Economic Impact of Tourism in Kerala, India. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 9(3), pp-610. http://european-science.com/eojnss/article/view/6082
Abstract:  Tourism is one of the few sectors where Kerala has clear competitive advantages as Kerala is considered as nature magic ranging from the Western Ghats covered with dense forests to the backwaters to the Arabian Sea. Its ancient rich culture including traditional dance forms and the strong presence of alternative systems of medicine add to its allure. Sustainable tourism is the mission. This can be achieved by integrating tourism with other parts of the economy like medical and health hubs which will attract more  tourists over a longer period of time and with higher spending capacity. Infrastructure development is crucial to achieve this goal. This paper is an overview on the economic impact of tourism in Kerala.
2. Rajan, S. I. (2020). Migrants at a crossroads: COVID-19 and challenges to migration. Migration and Development, 1-8.  https://doi.org/10.1080/21632324.2020.1826201
Abstract:  This article examines the role of large scale migration surveys in understanding that future. Focusing on the example of Kerala, the article highlights the role of the Kerala Migration Survey (KMS) which has provided data on stocks of emigrants, return emigrants, cost of migration, use of remittances, and migration corridors since 1998.
The article shows how the Government of Kerala effectively utilized this data to manage the spread of the pandemic and its subsequent socio-economic impact on individuals, communities and society and organize policies and programs as well as to prepare for eventual return migrants for their integration and rehabilitation.
Books and edited chapters
1.    Rajesh, K.(2020) Local Politics and Participatory Planning in Kerala: Democratic Decentralization, 1996-2016. Delhi: Primus Books,. http://primusbooks.com/local-politics-and-participatory-planning-in-kerala/
Local Politics and Participatory Planning in Kerala analyses how micro-level politics impacts and influences local governance and examines the dynamics of its interaction with honesty.
The book  investigates how the stratagems and social dynamics of political parties, religious groups, and civil society towards grassroots democracy and local development have changed over time, focusing particularly on the extent of participation of women and marginalized sections.
Further, considering the evolving nature of local governance, this work analyses the history of the past 20 years of local governments and participatory democracy in Kerala on the basis of empirical data.
2.    Mani, S. (2020). Kerala and the World Economy. Centre for Development Studies. http://cds.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Announcement-KaWEB.pdf
The book addresses several oft repeated propositions regarding Kerala's economy with fresh empirical data and methods of data analysis. These are integration of the state's economy with the rest of the world, the importance of remittances sent by Kerala workers especially from the Middle East, the state of Kerala's manufacturing sector and the condition of her environment.
The book deals with these current and long standing issues in 7 broad groups such as sustainable development, commercial crops, livestock and fisheries, high tech manufacturing and modern industries, international trade, migration and remittances and health.
Miscellaneous
1. Center for Public Policy Research. (2020). Kerala model of response to Covid-19. https://www.cppr.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/KERALA-MODEL-OF-RESPONSE-TO-COVID-19.pdf
The study explores the interventions undertaken by both government and non-government actors that facilitated the State to effectively contain the spread of the virus during the first two waves of infection. The research also suggests a framework which can be adopted by other States by remodelling it as per their contextual requirement.

Health
Scopus indexed journals
1.Thomas, A. S. (2020). Air pollution and nutritional transition as risk factors for non-communicable diseases: The emerging trends in health scenario of Kerala, India. Plant Archives, 20(2), 3296-3300.
Abstract:  In Kerala, the sharp rise in prevalence of NCDs were associated with gradual process of urbanization, the phenomenal reduction in the cultivated area of paddy and all pulses and the enormous increase in poultry and meat consumption, access to labour saving techniques ,the rise of various non farm sectors, and especially the emergence of service sector. Though demographic dividend provides us a window of opportunity, the same would act as a double-edged sword as both the younger and the older people are equally prone to NCDs. The problem of increased burden of NCDs will remain unresolved until and unless both behavioural modifications at micro level and environmental protection at macro level are intensively addressed.
2. Lang, C. (2020). Neurochemistry and subjunctivities of depression in Kerala, South India. Anthropology & Medicine, 1-15.  https://doi.org/10.1080/13648470.2019.1651
Abstract:  Using two ethnographic examples, the aim of this paper is to analyse how subjectivities are construed and shaped in the process of negotiating depression in clinical encounters in mainstream psychiatric institutions in Kerala and how multiple framings and ontologies of affliction are assembled in them.
Subjectivities of depression are, it will be argued, less coherent than ambiguous and fractured, unstable and fragile. They engage, accentuate, and sometimes merge different, often contradictory discourses. They should therefore better be referred to as 'subjunctivities'.
The idiom of depression often becomes a rhetorical device to emphasise affiliation to a scientific medical discourse or citizenship and is often a statement to emphasise 'scientific temper' and modernity and to demarcate oneself from backwardness and superstition.
3. Brooks, L. A. (2020). The Vascularity of Ayurvedic Leech Therapy: Sensory Translations and Emergent Agencies in Interspecies Medicine. Medical Anthropology Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1111/maq.12595
Abstract: This article offers vascularity as a multidimensional imaginary for the interspecies entanglements constituting Ayurvedic leech therapy. Whether, when, where, and how a leech decides to bite, suck, and release comprise pivotal junctures in leech therapy as practiced in southern Kerala. In the course of leech-human interactions, leeches translate matter, providing sensory mediation, relief, and amusement.