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

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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)

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

Volume (Year): 96 (2006)
Issue (Month): 4 (September)
Pages: 1225-1252
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Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:96:y:2006:i:4:p:1225-1252

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  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)
  2. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2000. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," NBER Working Papers 7771, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(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, Department of Economics, Mathematics & Statistics. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Arora, Saurabh & Romijn, Henny, 2009. "Innovation for the base of the pyramid: Critical perspectives from development studies on heterogeneity and participation," UNU-MERIT Working Paper Series 036, United Nations University, Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology. [Downloadable!]
  3. 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!]
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  4. Ming Lu & Jianzhi Zhao, 2009. "The Contribution of Social Networks to Income Inequality in Rural China: A Regression-Based Decomposition and Cross-Regional Comparison," Global COE Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series gd08-019, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University. [Downloadable!]
  5. 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!]
  6. Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo & Maitreesh Ghatak & Jeanne Lafortune, 2009. "Marry for What? Caste and Mate Selection in Modern India," STICERD - Economic Organisation and Public Policy Discussion Papers Series 009, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  7. Kaivan Munshi & Mark Rosenzweig, 2009. "Why is Mobility in India so Low? Social Insurance, Inequality, and Growth," NBER Working Papers 14850, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Audretsch, David B & Bönte, Werner & Tamvada, Jagannadha Pawan, 2007. "Religion and Entrepreneurship," CEPR Discussion Papers 6378, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Abhijit Banerjee, 2009. "Marry for What? Caste and Mate Selection in Modern India," Working Papers id:2144, esocialsciences.com. [Downloadable!]
  10. Mariapia Mendola & Gero Carletto, 2009. "International Migration and Gender Differentials in the Home Labor Market: Evidence from Albania," Development Working Papers 272, Centro Studi Luca d\'Agliano, University of Milano. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo & Maitreesh Ghatak & Jeanne Lafortune, 2009. "Marry for What: Caste and Mate Selection in Modern India," NBER Working Papers 14958, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Irma Clots-Figueras, 2007. "Are female leaders good for education? : Evidence from India," Economics Working Papers we077342, Universidad Carlos III, Departamento de Economía. [Downloadable!]
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