What motivates to participate in an employment guarantee programme in India? A logit model analysis

The present study attempts to identify the factors that motivate participation of real stakeholders in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGP) in India. The study used primary data collected through personal interview schedule from the households of the tribal dominated district-Mayurbhanj of the state Odisha of India. By using a logit regression model it is found that the awareness, age, caste, years of education, household size, political affiliation and BPL card holding are positive predictors of participation in MGNREG Programme, whereas gender, per capita land holding, off-farm opportunities and annual family income are negative predictors of participation in the programme. Whereas, the divergence results found between the tribal and non-tribal community for the sample. Better targeting of the real stakeholders for active participation in the Programme is the central concern for policy makers.