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Barriers or catalysts? Traditional institutions and social mobility in rural India

Author

Listed:
  • Vegard Iversen
  • Anustup Kundu
  • Rahul Lahoti
  • Kunal Sen

Abstract

We examine how village-level social group dominance affects the educational and occupational mobility of minority and other social groups in rural India across multiple generations. We distinguish between upper caste and own-group dominance and examine the mechanisms underpinning inequality in mobility outcomes. We find inequality in upward educational mobility to have significantly narrowed over time, with Scheduled Castes doing better in upper caste- and own-dominated villages, while Scheduled Tribes and Muslims do worse in own-dominated villages.

Suggested Citation

  • Vegard Iversen & Anustup Kundu & Rahul Lahoti & Kunal Sen, 2023. "Barriers or catalysts? Traditional institutions and social mobility in rural India," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-124, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2023-124
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jeffrey R Kling & Jeffrey B Liebman & Lawrence F Katz, 2007. "Experimental Analysis of Neighborhood Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 75(1), pages 83-119, January.
    2. Neha Bailwal & Sourabh Paul, 2021. "Caste Discrimination in Provision of Public Schools in Rural India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(11), pages 1830-1851, November.
    3. Deshpande, Ashwani, 2011. "The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198072034.
    4. Sam Asher & Tobias Lunt & Ryu Matsuura & Paul Novosad, 2021. "Development Research at High Geographic Resolution: An Analysis of Night-Lights, Firms, and Poverty in India Using the SHRUG Open Data Platform," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(4), pages 845-871.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Educational mobility; Occupational mobility; Caste; Land; India; Land tenure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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