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Does Identity Affect Labor Supply?

Author

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  • Suanna Oh

Abstract

How does identity influence economic behavior in the labor market? I investigate this question in rural India, focusing on the effect of caste identity on job-specific labor supply. In a field experiment, laborers choose whether to take up various job offers, which differ in associations with specific castes. Workers are less willing to accept offers that are linked to castes other than their own, especially when those castes rank lower in the social hierarchy. Workers forgo large payments to avoid job offers that conflict with their caste identity, even when these decisions are made in private.

Suggested Citation

  • Suanna Oh, 2023. "Does Identity Affect Labor Supply?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(8), pages 2055-2083, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:113:y:2023:i:8:p:2055-83
    DOI: 10.1257/aer.20211826
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    Cited by:

    1. Goette, Lorenz & Tripodi, Egon, 2024. "The limits of social recognition: Experimental evidence from blood donors," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    2. Asad, Sher Afghan & Banerjee, Ritwik & Bhattacharya, Joydeep, 2023. "Do workers discriminate against their out-group employers? Evidence from an online platform economy," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 221-242.
    3. Jiang, Weijie & Yu, Hui & Chen, Qi, 2024. "Surname distance and interregional investments," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    4. Banerjee, Biswajit & Herrala, Risto, 2024. "Testing the impact of liquidation speed on leverage using Indian data," BOFIT Discussion Papers 6/2024, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    5. Chadi, Adrian & Hetschko, Clemens, 2025. "Income or leisure? On the hidden benefits of (un)employment," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    6. Doerrenberg, Philipp & Duncan, Denvil & Li, Danyang, 2024. "The (in)visible hand: Do workers discriminate against employers?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    7. Lane, Tom, 2024. "The strategic use of social identity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 355-368.
    8. Qinyou Hu, 2024. "Social status and marriage markets: Evaluating a Hukou policy in China," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 477-509, June.
    9. Kaivan Munshi & Swapnil Singh, 2024. "Social Status, Economic Development and Female Labor Force (Non) Participation," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 2417, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    10. Cassan, Guilhem & Keniston, Daniel & Kleineberg, Tatjana, 2021. "A Division of Laborers: Identity and Efficiency in India," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 540, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    11. Florian H. Schneider & Fanny Brun & Roberto A. Weber, 2024. "Sorting and wage premiums in immoral work," CEBI working paper series 24-12, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    12. Paula Onuchic, 2022. "Recent Contributions to Theories of Discrimination," Papers 2205.05994, arXiv.org, revised Dec 2025.
    13. de Janvry, Alain & Rao, Manaswini & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2025. "Seeding the seeds: Role of social structure in agricultural technology diffusion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    14. Zhu, Sha & Tian, Chengzhi & Hu, Yuanrui, 2025. "Chinese migrant workers’ integration into cities and land transfer amid urban–rural population mobility," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    15. Chen, Yuyu & Hensel, Lukas & Yao, Xinjue, 2025. "From Followers to Leaders: The Career Impact of High-Quality Managers," IZA Discussion Papers 17848, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Vojtěch Bartoš & Ian Levely & Vojtech Bartos, 2023. "Measuring Social Preferences in Developing Economies," CESifo Working Paper Series 10744, CESifo.
    17. Baysan, Ceren & Dar, Manzoor H. & Emerick, Kyle & Li, Zhimin & Sadoulet, Elisabeth, 2024. "The agricultural wage gap within rural villages," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    18. Arnaud Natal & Christophe Jalil Nordman, 2025. "She Works Hard for the Money: Debt Burden and Labour Supply in India," Working Papers DT/2025/01, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    19. Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Stefanie Stantcheva & Johannes Wohlfart, 2024. "Measuring What Is Top of Mind," CEBI working paper series 24-10, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    20. Cullen, Claire & Joshi, Sarthak & Vecci, Joseph & Talbot-Jones, Julia, 2024. "Female Empowerment and Male Backlash: Experimental Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 17450, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Lorenz Götte & Egon Tripodi, 2022. "Social Recognition: Experimental Evidence from Blood Donors," CESifo Working Paper Series 9719, CESifo.
    22. Enzo Brox & Riccardo Di Francesco, 2024. "The Cost of Coming Out," CEIS Research Paper 572, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 16 Apr 2024.
    23. Maria Rosaria Carillo & Vincenzo Lombardo & Tiziana Venittelli, 2023. "Social identity and labor market outcomes of immigrants," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 69-113, January.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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