As pointed out earlier, a great deal of variation in the younger and older groups is observed in the age-specific labour force participation rates of developed and developing countries.

In India, the age-specific participation rate for those in age group 5-14 years of age is the (5.7 per 100 population), whereas the developed countries like the United States and Japan, this rate is zero for the age group.

Again, the participation rates for those above the age of 64 are quite high for developing countries when compared to the corresponding rates for developed countries. In the adult age group of 25-64, not much difference is observed between the developed and the developing countries.

These differences in the patterns of age specific male activity rate for different countries may be attributed to the variations in the age of entrance into the labour force and in the age of retirement or involuntary withdrawal from the labour force.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Not much variation observed in these rates in developed and developing countries because, in every society, all able-bodied men in the adult age group are expected to be engaged in some income-producing activity.

It is for this reason that male participation rates of over 90 per 100 populations are observed for the age group 25-54. In developing countries, males generally enter the labour force at a later age than they do in developing countries, and withdraw from the labour force at an earlier age.

They also put in fewer hours of work per week on an average than their counterparts do in the developing countries, though this fact is not reflected in the labour force participation rates.

Differences in the age specific labour force participation rates are also observed for rural and urban areas. In rural areas, males enter the labour force at an early age and continue to work right up to an advanced age.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

As a consequence of these facts, while the male labour force participation rate for those below the age group 15 in India in 1991 was 6.56 per hundred populations for rural areas, it was only 2.79 per hundred populations in the urban areas.

Similarly, in the same year, in the age group 60 and above, the male labour force participation rate was 65.36 for rural areas and 42.93 for urban areas.