Q1. [3] medium thorough-understanding
A family of five works on a 1.5-hectare rain-fed plot. All five members put in effort throughout the year, yet if two of them left to work in a factory, total farm output would not fall. Using the concept of disguised unemployment, explain this situation and state what would change for the family if those two members did take up factory jobs.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:23 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Disguised Unemployment: A situation where more people are employed in a job than actually needed. The extra workers appear to be working but contribute little or nothing to output. Their marginal productivity is zero.
In this family, the 1.5-hectare rain-fed plot does not require all five members' full effort. Two members are disguisedly unemployed — they seem busy but removing them would not reduce total farm output, showing their actual contribution is negligible.
What would change if those two took factory jobs:
- Family income would increase — they would earn factory wages in addition to farm income.
- Farm output would remain the same.
- The remaining three members could productively manage the farm alone.
Source: Economics, Chapter 2 (Sectors of the Indian Economy)
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Explanation
- The key concept here is disguised unemployment (also called hidden unemployment), specific to agriculture in India. Examiners expect: definition + application to the scenario + consequence of removal.
- Always state that marginal productivity ≈ zero for the extra workers.
- The "what changes" part must mention income rises (factory wages added) and output stays same — both points earn marks.
- Do not confuse with open unemployment (where a person finds no work at all).