Rags to riches? Intergenerational occupational mobility in India

We examine intergenerational occupational mobility in India among males using the Indian Human Development Survey survey of 2011-12. Our analysis differs from previous work in two important respects. First, we use a finer-grained categorisation that takes into account differences in skill levels across different occupations as well as their place in India’s social hierarchy of labour. Second, we examine both sharp and moderate occupational ascents and descents – that is, both large and not-so-large movements up or down the social status ladder. We compare India with historical occupational mobility elsewhere and examine how such ascents and descents are linked to social identity and urban location. We find that vast differences exist in the upward mobility prospects of urban versus rural residents and upper-caste Hindus versus Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Simultaneously, the prospects for downward mobility are large in India, larger among rural residents and among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. We also find striking parallels between upward mobility prospects and sharp descent risks in India and China