Caste-based social exclusion and poverty in Nepal

This study analyzes caste-based social exclusion and poverty using primary data collected from 448 households in Bheri municipality, Jajarkot district, Nepal, supplemented by secondary data from 34 companies listed on the Nepal Stock Exchange （NEPSE）. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and econometric models such as the chi-square test, t-test, and binary logistic regression analysis. The study reveals that low-caste people are facing discrimination and social exclusion in accessing quality education and the labor market. These factors negatively affect their livelihoods, resulting in low-quality education, an income gap between upper and lower castes, and overall income inequality. These negative impacts contribute to consumption-based national poverty for low-caste and marginalized households in rural Nepal. Being low caste increases the probability of being poor by 1.533 times, which is statistically significant in less than 5%. Engagement in daily-based labor for their primary income sources will increase those households’ likelihood of being poor by 3.65 times compared to other sources of income, with a significance level of less than 1%. Moreover, having more dependent family members in households and engaging in subsistence farming also significantly contributes to falling into poverty. To enhance the livelihoods of low-caste and marginalized households, the government should prioritize combating poverty by increasing community engagement programs, ensuring equal access to the labor market, and quality education for these communities. Furthermore, private companies should also prioritize combating poverty through providing start-up business funds, job opportunity, and corporate social responsibility initiatives.