EDUCATION, MIGRATION AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: Kerala Experience

This book is an attempt to understand the effects of mass-education, international migration and virtuous growth on the process of human development in south Indian state of Kerala. The development experience of Kerala, particularly the discussions on ‘Kerala model of development’ and
‘virtuous growth’ set the background for the study. The book uses the evidence collected from Malappuram district (with the largest number of international migrants in the state) and highlights the importance of diverse geography, migration pattern, cultural composition and history of development in understanding the way each region follows the larger model.
Instead of developing regional human development indices, the focus has been on specific capabilities in different local economies. Jafar argues that specific locales need to be accounted for in the larger narratives of development in any region. The findings show that geographic diversity, culture, migration, gender and education affect the instrumental and constitutive freedom derived from specific capabilities. The book also tries to present Malappuram’s experience as a snapshot of the lower end case of education-led development in Kerala and offer some interesting insights on the relationship between education and development.