Household Income, Employment and Socio-Economic Well-Being: A Policy Paper

Household income, the quality of employment and perceived well-being are often studied separately, which obscures how they interact at the local level where policy is delivered.This paper uses primary survey data from 821 households in Harapanahalli taluk, Karnataka, to examine the structure of household income and employment and their association with socio-economic well-being.A seven-item well-being index (Cronbach's α = 0.83) was analysed using cross-tabulations, Cramér's V, Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman tests, and an ordinary least squares model with HC3 robust standard errors.The livelihood base is thin and seasonal: 49.3% of households earn less than ₹10,000 a month, 68.7% have regular work for fewer than six months a year, and 64.7% describe their income as less than fully adequate.Income is patterned by residence, gender and occupation.After controlling for income, occupation and education, urban residence, higher income bands, business, self-employment and government occupations, and extended-family structure are associated with higher well-being, whereas education is not.Indebtedness (65.8%) is positively associated with well-being, which suggests that credit access marks economic standing rather than distress.Policy recommendations address year-round employment, rural non-farm diversification, women's employment, credit design, youth skills and taluk-level monitoring.