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Discrimination in an elite labour market? Job placements at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

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  • Sujoy Chakravarty

    (Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi)

  • E. Somanathan

    (Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi)

Abstract

Using data on the IIM-Ahmedabad's 2006 batch of MBA graduates, we find that SC/ST (Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe) graduates get significantly lower wages (between 19 and 35 percent depending on the exchange rate used to convert foreign currencies) than those in the general category. This difference disappears once the lower GPAs (Grade Point Averages) of SC/ST candidates are accounted for, suggesting that the large wage difference is due to the weaker (on average) academic performance of SC/ST candidates. Controlling for work experience and GPA, there is no wage penalty to being female. Moreover, unlike the case in US and British labour markets, there is only weak evidence of wage premium to being more attractive, where attractiveness was measured in the standard manner by anonymous ratings of passport-type photographs by twenty raters. The study suggests that in the absence of any serious attempt to equalise school-level opportunities, the current policy of reservations at elite educational institutions will be insufficient to equalise career outcomes even for the minority of SC/ST candidates that can benefit from them.

Suggested Citation

  • Sujoy Chakravarty & E. Somanathan, 2008. "Discrimination in an elite labour market? Job placements at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad," Discussion Papers 08-01, Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi.
    • Handle: RePEc:alo:isipdp:08-01
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    File URL: http://www.isid.ac.in/~pu/dispapers/dp08-01.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. K. Sundaram, 2006. "On Backwardness And Fair Access To Higher Education In India: Some Results From Nss 55th Round Surveys 1999-2000," Working papers 151, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    2. Harper, Barry, 2000. "Beauty, Stature and the Labour Market: A British Cohort Study," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 62(0), pages 771-800, Special I.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Devesh Kapur, 2010. "Indian Higher Education," NBER Chapters, in: American Universities in a Global Market, pages 305-334, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Abraham, Vinoj, 2012. "Wages and earnings of marginalized social and religious groups in India: Data sources, scope, limitations and suggestions," MPRA Paper 37799, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Devi Vijay & Vivek G. Nair, 2022. "In the Name of Merit: Ethical Violence and Inequality at a Business School," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(2), pages 315-337, August.

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