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Is education the panacea for economic deprivation of Muslims?: Evidence from wage earners in India, 1987-2005

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  • Bhaumik, Sumon Kumar
  • Chakrabarty, Manisha

Abstract

Few researchers have examined the nature and determinants of earnings differentials among religious groups, and none has been undertaken in the context of conflict-prone multi-religious societies like the one in India. We address this lacuna in the literature by examining the differences in the average log earnings of Hindu and Muslim wage earners in India, during the 1987-2005 period. Our results indicate that education differences between Hindu and Muslim wage earners, especially differences in the proportion of wage earners with tertiary education, are largely responsible for the differences in the average log earnings of the two religious groups across the years. By contrast, differences in the returns to education do not explain the aforementioned difference in average log earnings. In conclusion, we discuss some policy implications.

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  • Bhaumik, Sumon Kumar & Chakrabarty, Manisha, 2009. "Is education the panacea for economic deprivation of Muslims?: Evidence from wage earners in India, 1987-2005," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 137-149, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:20:y:2009:i:2:p:137-149
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    8. Ahmed, Salma, 2015. "Dynamics and diversity: How are religious minorities faring in the labour Market in Bangladesh?," MPRA Paper 75153, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 18 Nov 2016.
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    10. Thierry BAUDASSE & Ahmed DRIOUCHI, 2007. "Variety of Cultural Values and the Role of Education & Research for the Improvement of Intercultural Dialogues," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 1742, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    11. Soumyajit Chakraborty & Alok K. Bohara, 2021. "The Cost of Being ‘Backward’ in India: Socio-religious Discrimination in the Labour Market," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 15(2), pages 252-274, August.
    12. Mehtabul Azam & Vipul Bhatt, 2015. "Like Father, Like Son? Intergenerational Educational Mobility in India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(6), pages 1929-1959, December.
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    14. Pooja Sengupta & Roma Puri, 2022. "Gender Pay Gap in India: A Reality and the Way Forward—An Empirical Approach Using Quantile Regression Technique," Studies in Microeconomics, , vol. 10(1), pages 50-81, June.
    15. Yana van der Meulen Rodgers & Nidhiya Menon, 2013. "Labor Regulations and Job Quality: Evidence from India," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 66(4), pages 933-957, July.
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    17. Basedau, Matthias & Gobien, Simone & Prediger, Sebastian, 2017. "The Ambivalent Role of Religion for Sustainable Development: A Review of the Empirical Evidence," GIGA Working Papers 297, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies.
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    19. Matthias Basedau & Simone Gobien & Sebastian Prediger, 2018. "The Multidimensional Effects Of Religion On Socioeconomic Development: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(4), pages 1106-1133, September.
    20. SWATI Sharma, 2016. "Does Education Determine Employment: Peculiarities Of The Indian Labour Market," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 11(1), pages 164-180, April.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Earnings gap Education Decomposition Religion;

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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