This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Traditional Institutions Meet the Modern World: Caste, Gender, and Schooling Choice in a Globalizing Economy

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Kaivan Munshi
Mark Rosenzweig
Abstract

This paper addresses the question of how traditional institutions interact with the forces of globalization to shape the economic mobility and welfare of particular groups of individuals in the new economy. We explore the role of one such traditional institution—the caste system—in shaping career choices by gender in Bombay using new survey data on school enrollment and income over the past 20 years. We find that male working-class—lower-caste—networks continue to channel boys into local language schools that lead to the traditional occupation, despite the fact that returns to nontraditional white-collar occupations rose substantially in the 1990s, suggesting the possibility of a dynamic inefficiency. In contrast, lower-caste girls, who historically had low labor market participation rates and so did not benefit from the network, are taking full advantage of the opportunities that became available in the new economy by switching rapidly to English schools. (JEL I21, J16, O15, Z13)

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help file. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1257/aer.96.4.1225
File Format: text/html
File Function:
Download Restriction: no
File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles/article_detail.php?journal=AER&volume=96&issue=4&article=14&issue_date=September2006
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to AEA members.
File URL: http://www.e-aer.org/data/sept06/20030775_data.zip
File Format: application/zip
File Function: dataset accompanying article
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal American Economic Review.

Volume (Year): 96 (2006)
Issue (Month): 4 (September)
Pages: 1225-1252
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:96:y:2006:i:4:p:1225-1252

Contact details of provider:
Email:
Web page: http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/
More information through EDIRC

Order Information:
Web: http://www.aeaweb.org/subscribe.html

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Kaivan Munshi, 2003. "Networks In The Modern Economy: Mexican Migrants In The U.S. Labor Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 118(2), pages 549-599, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Pramila Krishnan & Emanuela Sciubba, 2006. "Links and Architecture in Village Networks," Birkbeck Working Papers in Economics and Finance 0614, Birkbeck, School of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Takahiro Ito, 2007. "Caste Discrimination and Transaction Costs in the Labor Market: Evidence from Rural North India," Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series d06-200, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Sarmistha Pal, 2008. "Public Infrastructure, Location of Private Schools and Quality of Schooling in an Emerging Economy," CEDI Discussion Paper Series 08-05, Centre for Economic Development and Institutions(CEDI), Brunel University. [Downloadable!]
  4. Audretsch, David B & Bönte, Werner & Tamvada, Jagannadha Pawan, 2007. "Religion and Entrepreneurship," CEPR Discussion Papers 6378, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Irma Clots-Figueras, 2007. "Are female leaders good for education? : Evidence from India," Economics Working Papers we077342, Universidad Carlos III, Departamento de Economía. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS is not the only service displaying RePEc data. Choose on RePEc which service fits your needs best.

This page was last updated on 2009-1-7.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.