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A (paid) passage to India: Migration and revealed willingness to pay for upper‐caste status

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  • Alexander Persaud

Abstract

How much are individuals willing to pay for privileged status in a society with systemic discrimination? Utilizing unique data on indentured Indians in Fiji paying to return to India, I calculate how much upper‐caste individuals were willing to pay historically for their status. I show the lower bound of the value of the uppermost castes in north India equaled almost 2.5 years' gross wages. The ordering follows hypothesized inter‐caste hierarchies and shows diminishing effects as caste status falls. Men entirely drive the effects. My results show some of the first evidence quantifying caste status values and speak to caste's persistence.

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  • Alexander Persaud, 2023. "A (paid) passage to India: Migration and revealed willingness to pay for upper‐caste status," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(3), pages 652-674, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:61:y:2023:i:3:p:652-674
    DOI: 10.1111/ecin.13139
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