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Was the Mandal Commission Right? Living Standard Differences between Backward Classes and Other Social Groups in India

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Author Info

  • Gang, Ira N.

    () (Rutgers University)

  • Sen, Kunal

    () (University of Manchester)

  • Yun, Myeong-Su

    () (Tulane University)

Abstract

Affirmative action has been at the heart of public policies towards the socially disadvantaged in India. Compensatory discrimination policies which have been adopted for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) since independence were recommended for Other Backward Classes (OBC) by the Mandal Commission established by the Indian government in 1979. We examine why OBC have lower living standards, as measured by per capita household consumption expenditures, relative to the mainstream population, and whether these reasons are similar to those observed for SC and ST. We find that while the causes of the living standard gap for the OBC are broadly similar to those for the SC and ST, the role of educational attainment in explaining the gap is higher in importance for the OBC.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3453.

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Length: 34 pages
Date of creation: Apr 2008
Date of revision:
Publication status: published in: Economic and Political Weekly, 2011, 46(39), 43-51
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3453

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Keywords: living standards; caste; reservation policy; decomposition;

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  1. Kijima, Yoko, 2006. "Caste and Tribe Inequality: Evidence from India, 1983-1999," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(2), pages 369-404, January.
  2. Vani K. Borooah, 2005. "Caste, Inequality, and Poverty in India," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 399-414, 08.
  3. Ira N. Gang & Kunal Sen & Myeong-Su Yun, 2008. "Poverty In Rural India: Caste And Tribe," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 54(1), pages 50-70, 03.
  4. Datt, Gaurav & Ravallion, Martin, 1998. "Why Have Some Indian States Done Better Than Others at Reducing Rural Poverty?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 65(257), pages 17-38, February.
  5. Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Manisha Chakrabarty, 2006. "Earnings Inequality in India: Has the Rise of Caste and Religion Based Politics in India had an Impact?," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 819, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
  6. Dubey, Amaresh & Gangopadhyay, Shubhashis & Wadhwa, Wilima, 2001. "Occupational Structure and Incidence of Poverty in Indian Towns of Different Sizes," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(1), pages 49-59, February.
  7. Richard Palmer-Jones & Kunal Sen, 2003. "What has luck got to do with it? A regional analysis of poverty and agricultural growth in rural India," The Journal of Development Studies, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 1-31.
  8. Borooah, Vani & Dubey, Amaresh & Iyer, Sriya, 2007. "The Effectiveness of Jobs Reservation: Caste, Religion, and Economic Status in India," MPRA Paper 19421, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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Cited by:
  1. Vegard Iversen & Adriaan Kalwij & Arjan Verschoor & Amaresh Dubey, 2010. "Caste dominance and economic performance in rural India," Indian Statistical Institute, Planning Unit, New Delhi Discussion Papers 10-01, Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi, India.

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