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Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in Rural India: Evidence from Ten Villages

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  • A. Bheemeshwar Reddy

    (Senior Research Fellow, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore, bheemeshwar@isibang.ac.in.)

  • Madhura Swaminathan

    (Professor, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore.)

Abstract

Given the relatively limited employment opportunities available within villages, the main vehicle for intergenerational occupational mobility for people in rural India is migration to urban or semi-urban areas. At the same time, since 69 per cent of India's population still lives in villages, it is important to examine and understand the level of intergenerational occupational mobility within villages themselves. This paper examines intergenerational occupational mobility among rural males in India using data from household surveys in ten villages in different agro-ecological regions of the country. The mobility matrix approach is applied to two father-son pairs: heads of households and their fathers and heads of households and co-resident adult sons. A four-fold occupational classification is used: big farmers, small farmers, skilled workers and persons engaged in business or salaried employment, and lastly, rural manual workers. The main finding of the paper is of low intergenerational occupational mobility in all ten villages, particularly among big farmers and rural manual workers. Intergenerational occupational immobility was higher among manual workers from Scheduled Castes than manual workers from Other Castes. Odds ratios showed that downward mobility from any occupation to that of manual worker was higher for Scheduled Caste men than men of Other Castes. The data strongly support the view that Scheduled Caste men who remain in villages are unable to move out of rural manual employment.

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  • A. Bheemeshwar Reddy & Madhura Swaminathan, 2014. "Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in Rural India: Evidence from Ten Villages," Journal, Review of Agrarian Studies, vol. 4(1), pages 95-134, February-.
    • Handle: RePEc:fas:journl:v:4:y:2014:i:1:p:95-134
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    1. Sripad Motiram & Ashish Singh, 2012. "How close does the apple fall to the tree? Some evidence on intergenerational occupational mobility from India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2012-017, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
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    9. Reddy, A. Bheemeshwar & Swaminathan, Madhura, 2014. "Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in Rural India: Evidence from Ten Villages," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 4(1), July.
    10. Jo Blanden, 2013. "Cross-Country Rankings In Intergenerational Mobility: A Comparison Of Approaches From Economics And Sociology," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(1), pages 38-73, February.
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    14. Sripad Motiram & Ashish Singh, 2012. "How close does the apple fall to the tree? Some evidence on intergenerational occupational mobility from India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2012-017, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sandhya R. Mahapatro & Renu Choudhary, 2022. "Intergenerational educational and occupational mobility among scheduled castes in rural Bihar," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 24(1), pages 65-84, June.
    2. Reddy, A. Bheemeshwar & Swaminathan, Madhura, 2014. "Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in Rural India: Evidence from Ten Villages," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 4(1), July.
    3. Manasi Bera & Amaresh Dubey, 2020. "Structure and Changes in Household Income and Employment Across Social Groups in Rural India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(2), pages 407-435, June.
    4. Manasi Bera & Amaresh Dubey, 0. "Structure and Changes in Household Income and Employment Across Social Groups in Rural India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 0, pages 1-29.
    5. Reddy, A. Bheemeshwar, 2015. "Changes in Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in India: Evidence from National Sample Surveys, 1983–2012," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 329-343.
    6. Thiagu Ranganathan & Amarnath Tripathi & Ghanshyam Pandey, 2016. "Income Mobility among Social Groups in Indian Rural Households Findings from the Indian Human Development Survey," IEG Working Papers 368, Institute of Economic Growth.
    7. Nawazuddin Ahmed & Dinesh K. Nauriyal, 2023. "Occupational and Educational Mobility Among Indian Muslims: Primary Survey-Based Evidence," Millennial Asia, , vol. 14(2), pages 228-259, June.

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