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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 K.

    (University of Sheffield)

  • Chakrabarty, Manisha

    (Indian Institute of Management)

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 K. & Chakrabarty, Manisha, 2007. "Is Education the Panacea for Economic Deprivation of Muslims? Evidence from Wage Earners in India, 1987–2005," IZA Discussion Papers 3232, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3232
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    Cited by:

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    2. Bhaumik, Sumon Kumar & Gang, Ira N. & Yun, Myeong-Su, 2017. "Poverty’s Deconstruction: Beyond the Visible," GLO Discussion Paper Series 147, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    3. Smrutirekha Singhari & S. Madheswaran, 2017. "Wage structure and wage differentials in formal and informal sectors in India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 60(3), pages 389-414, September.
    4. Manisha Chakrabarty & Sumon Kumar Bhaumik, 2012. "Whither human capital? The woeful tale of transition to tertiary education in India," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(9), pages 835-838, June.
    5. Somnath Chattopadhyay & Amita Majumder & Hasanur Jaman, 2014. "Decomposition of inter-regional poverty gap in India: a spatial approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 65-99, February.
    6. 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.
    7. M. Niaz Asadullah & Uma Kambhampati & Florencia Lopez Boo, 2014. "Social divisions in school participation and attainment in India: 1983–2004," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 38(4), pages 869-893.
    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.
    9. Somnath Chattopadhyay, 2011. "Earnings efficiency and poverty dominance analysis: a spatial approach," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 31(3), pages 2298-2318.
    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.
    13. Escobal, Javier & Flores, Eva, 2009. "Maternal Migration and Child Well-Being in Peru," MPRA Paper 56463, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    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.
    16. Somnath Chattopadhyay, 2014. "Analysis Of Poverty And Efficiency: An Earnings Frontier Approach," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(2), pages 133-155, April.
    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.
    18. Mitali Chinara, 2018. "Gender Discrimination in Wage Earnings: A Study of Indian Wage Market," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 61(1), pages 157-169, March.
    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.
    21. Balakarushna Padhi & Udaya S. Mishra & Urmi Pattanayak, 2019. "Gender-Based Wage Discrimination in Indian Urban Labour Market: An Assessment," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 62(3), pages 361-388, September.
    22. Javier Escobal & Eva Flores, 2009. "Maternal Migration and Child Well-being in Peru(Migración materna y bienestar infantil en el Perú)," Documentos de Trabajo (Niños del Milenio-GRADE) ninosm56, Niños del Milenio (Young Lives).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    earnings gap; decomposition; religion; education;
    All these keywords.

    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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