IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jsecdv/v26y2024i1d10.1007_s40847-023-00317-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Insights from economic theories of discrimination: on sources, motives, consequences and policies

Author

Listed:
  • Sukhadeo Thorat

    (Jawaharlal Nehru University)

Abstract

This paper synthesises the theories of economic discrimination as developed since they emerged first with the writing of Gary Becker in the mid-1950s and later by Arrow, George Akerlof, William Darity and others. The economic theories of discrimination by these scholars addressed some important issues related to market discrimination. The paper captures the way theories defined the concept of market, inquire into sources of economic discrimination, motives behind economic discrimination, market conditions which make it possible to discriminate, economic consequences of market discrimination on income and poverty of the discriminated groups, and policies to overcome discrimination. In the end, the paper identifies the implications of the economic theories developed in the western world with respect to race, colour and gender to the institution of caste and untouchability in India.

Suggested Citation

  • Sukhadeo Thorat, 2024. "Insights from economic theories of discrimination: on sources, motives, consequences and policies," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 26(1), pages 5-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jsecdv:v:26:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s40847-023-00317-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s40847-023-00317-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40847-023-00317-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s40847-023-00317-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William Darity, 2005. "Stratification economics: The role of intergroup inequality," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 29(2), pages 144-153, June.
    2. Darity, William Jr. & Mason, Patrick L. & Stewart, James B., 2006. "The economics of identity: The origin and persistence of racial identity norms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 283-305, July.
    3. George A. Akerlof, 1980. "A Theory of Social Custom, of which Unemployment may be One Consequence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 94(4), pages 749-775.
    4. Phelps, Edmund S, 1972. "The Statistical Theory of Racism and Sexism," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(4), pages 659-661, September.
    5. George Akerlof, 1976. "The Economics of Caste and of the Rat Race and Other Woeful Tales," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 90(4), pages 599-617.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. S. Madheswaran & Smrutirekha Singhari, 2016. "Social exclusion and caste discrimination in public and private sectors in India: A decomposition analysis," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 59(2), pages 175-201, June.
    2. Jonathan B. Berk, 1999. "Statistical Discrimination in a Competitive Labor Market," NBER Working Papers 6871, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Kaushik Basu, 2016. "Beyond the Invisible Hand: Groundwork for a New Economics," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9299.
    4. David Austen-Smith & Roland G. Fryer, 2003. "The Economics of 'Acting White'," NBER Working Papers 9904, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3143-3259 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Luojia Hu & Christopher Taber, 2011. "Displacement, Asymmetric Information, and HeterogeneousHuman Capital," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 29(1), pages 113-152, January.
    7. Ilyess Karouni, 2022. "Thinking out stratification: the concept of subalternity," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 629-642, October.
    8. Pritha Dev & Blessing U. Mberu & Roland Pongou, 2016. "Ethnic Inequality: Theory and Evidence from Formal Education in Nigeria," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 64(4), pages 603-660.
    9. William Darity & Darrick Hamilton & James Stewart, 2015. "A Tour de Force in Understanding Intergroup Inequality: An Introduction to Stratification Economics," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 1-6, June.
    10. Claudia Senik & Thierry Verdier, 2011. "Segregation, entrepreneurship and work values: the case of France," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 24(4), pages 1207-1234, October.
    11. Pieter Serneels, 2004. "The Nature of Unemployment in Urban Ethiopia," CSAE Working Paper Series 2004-01, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    12. Samuel Bowles & Glenn C. Loury & Rajiv Sethi, 2014. "Group Inequality," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 129-152, February.
    13. Sekou Keita & Jérôme Valette, 2019. "Natives’ Attitudes and Immigrants’ Unemployment Durations," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(3), pages 1023-1050, June.
    14. Auriol, Emmanuelle & Platteau, Jean-Philippe & Camilotti, Giula, 2017. "Eradicating Women-Hurting Customs: What Role for Social Engineering?," CEPR Discussion Papers 12107, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Catherine Bros, 2008. "Power distribution and endogenous segregation," Post-Print halshs-00204974, HAL.
    16. Barbara Arel & Michael J. Tomas III, 2012. "The NBA Draft," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(3), pages 223-249, June.
    17. List John A., 2007. "Field Experiments: A Bridge between Lab and Naturally Occurring Data," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 6(2), pages 1-47, April.
    18. John A. List, 2004. "The Nature and Extent of Discrimination in the Marketplace: Evidence from the Field," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 119(1), pages 49-89.
    19. Oxoby, Robert J., 2003. "Attitudes and allocations: status, cognitive dissonance, and the manipulation of attitudes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 365-385, November.
    20. Snower, Dennis J. & Lechthaler, Wolfgang, 2013. "Worker Identity, Employment Fluctuations and Stabilization Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 7413, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jsecdv:v:26:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s40847-023-00317-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.