Pluralist Methodology for Development Economics: The Example of Moral Economy of Indian Labour Markets

This paper adds a moral angle to a pluralist approach to development economics. Normative assumptions can be found in all the five main schools of thought that have analysed India’s rural labour markets (neoclassical, new institutionalist, Marxist political economy, formalised political economy, and feminist). The theorisations that are used by each have normative overtones. I define overtones and distinguish them from normative undertones (i.e. elements of meaning that have an affect component). Statistical regressions in this literature are used to illustrate the types of undertones that are present. The undertones tend to cause performative contradictions for authors who claim value neutrality. The various moral reasoning strategies available for meta-normative economic research do not offer easy solutions. However they convincingly support the case for mixed-methods research in development economics. Further research on normative overtones can be conducted using bridging discourses and interdisciplinarity that recognises the underlying social reality.