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Poverty in Rural India: Ethnicity and Caste

Author

Listed:
  • Ira N. Gang

    (Rutgers University)

  • Kunal Sen

    (University of Manchester)

  • Myeong-Su Yun

    (Tulane University)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the determinants of rural poverty in India, contrasting the situation of scheduled caste (SC) and scheduled tribe (ST) households with the non-scheduled population. The incidence of poverty in SC and ST households is much higher than among non-scheduled households. By combining regression estimates for the ratio of per capita expenditure to the poverty line and an Oaxaca-type decomposition analysis, we study how these differences in the incidence of poverty arise. We find that for SC households, differences in characteristics explain the gaps in poverty incidence more than differences in transformed regression coefficients. In contrast, for ST households, the transformed regression coefficients play the more important role.

Suggested Citation

  • Ira N. Gang & Kunal Sen & Myeong-Su Yun, 2006. "Poverty in Rural India: Ethnicity and Caste," Departmental Working Papers 200634, Rutgers University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:rut:rutres:200634
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Lopez Boo, Florencia & Canon, Maria Eugenia, 2014. "Reversal of gender gaps in child development: Evidence from young children in India," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(1), pages 55-59.
    3. Singh, K.M. & Singh, R.K.P. & Meena, M.S. & Kumar, Abhay & Jha, A.K. & Kumar, Anjani, 2012. "Rural Poverty in Jharkhand: An Empirical Exploration of Socioeconomic determinants," MPRA Paper 44811, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 15 Dec 2012.
    4. Ahmed, Akhter U. & Hill, Ruth Vargas & Smith, Lisa C. & Wiesmann, Doris M. & Frankenberger, Tim, 2007. "The World's Most Deprived: Characteristics and Causes of Extreme Poverty and Hunger," 2020 Discussion Papers 42252, CGIAR, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Shankaran Nambiar, 2011. "Capabilities and Constraints," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(2), pages 179-195, January.
    6. Carlos Gradin, 2009. "Why is Poverty So High Among Afro-Brazilians? A Decomposition Analysis of the Racial Poverty Gap," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(9), pages 1426-1452.
    7. Shankaran Nambiar, 2011. "Capabilities and Constraints," Forum for Social Economics, Springer;The Association for Social Economics, vol. 40(2), pages 179-195, July.
    8. Carlos Grad󸀍, 2012. "Poverty among minorities in the United States: explaining the racial poverty gap for Blacks and Latinos," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(29), pages 3793-3804, October.
    9. Michal Brzezinski, 2019. "Diagnosing Unhappiness Dynamics: Evidence from Poland and Russia," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(7), pages 2291-2327, October.
    10. Katsushi Imai & Raghav Gaiha & Woojin Kang, 2011. "Poverty, inequality and ethnic minorities in Vietnam," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 249-282.
    11. Raghav Gaiha & Ganesh Thapa & Katsushi Imai & Vani S. Kulkarni, 2007. "Endowments, discrimination and deprivation among ethnic groups," Economics Discussion Paper Series 0722, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    12. Damir Esenaliev & Susan Steiner, 2012. "Are Uzbeks Better off than Kyrgyz?: Measuring and Decomposing Horizontal Inequality," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1252, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    13. Ira N. Gang & Kunal Sen & Myeong-Su Yun, 2017. "Is Caste Destiny? Occupational Diversification among Dalits in Rural India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(2), pages 476-492, April.
    14. Luis Ayala & Antonio Jurado & Jesús Pérez‐Mayo, 2011. "Income Poverty And Multidimensional Deprivation: Lessons From Cross‐Regional Analysis," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57(1), pages 40-60, March.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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