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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the determinants of occupational choice of workers in the handloom industry in Assam and to examine the variables that influence the occupational choice of the workers. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected from nine handloom concentrated districts in Assam. Multinomial and binary logistic regression models are used to analyse the data of three mutually exclusive occupations of workers namely owners, weavers, and reelers. Findings – The results from the tested empirical model show that annual income, education, access to modern technology, and family size are the significant variables that help in transforming the reelers to owners. Similarly, annual income, education, and access to formal credit are the important variables that help in transforming the reelers to weavers. Access to modern technology appears as the most important factor in the occupational shift from weavers to handloom owners. Research limitations/implications – Present study has some limitations. It considers only a few variables related to economic and socio-demographic issues. There is further scope of research incorporating more variables such as personal savings, healthcare facilities, availability of hank yarn, marketing facilities, etc. Limitation of data in the worker category helper is another finding constraint. Practical implications – Such studies in the handloom sector in Assam are limited and thus the present study greatly extends the understanding of the occupational choice of the workers in Assam's handloom industry. Originality/value – Previous studies on handloom industry concentrated predominantly on the economic condition of the workers using mostly multiple regression technique. The present study deviates from normal research by using multinomial and binomial logistic regressions, which analyse the likelihood of occupational shift of the workers. The findings can be generalized to other handicraft-based small industry.

Food insecurity affects nutrition, physical health and consequently one’s psychological well-being. Using a nationally representative longitudinal cohort of 29,308 Indian elderly people (aged 60+ years), this article examines the relationship between food insecurity and psychological distress. Self-reported emotional status experienced over the week before data collection was considered to construct psychological distress at the individual level. Based on the results of logistic regression, controlling for several demographic and socio-economic factors, a strong relationship was observed between food insecurity and psychological distress among the Indian elderly. This relationship is moderately higher in females than in males when accounting for demographic and socio-economic confounders. These findings have important policy implications urging intervention to enhance food security in the elderly at risk and to improve their physical and psychological health.

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