The Impact of Employment Quotas on the Economic Lives of Disadvantaged Minorities in India

Arbeitspapier

India has the world's biggest and arguably most aggressive employment-based affirmative action policy for minorities. This paper exploits the institutional features of a federally mandated employment quota policy to examine its causal impact on the economic lives of the two distinct minority groups (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes). My main finding is that a 1-percentage point increase in the employment quota for Scheduled Castes increases the likelihood of obtaining a salaried job by 0.6-percentage points for male Scheduled Caste members residing in the rural sector. The employment quota policy has no impact for Scheduled Tribes. Contrary to popular notion, I do not find evidence of "elite-capture" among the Scheduled Castes – the impact is concentrated among members who have completed less than secondary education. Consistent with the employment results, I find that the policy improved the well-being of Scheduled Castes members in rural areas who have completed less than secondary education. Finally, the impact of the employment quota policy varies by state characteristics.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 13847

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Publicly Provided Goods: General ; Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure ; Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials ; Public Sector Labor Markets ; Economic Development: General
• Subject: consumption expenditure ; Scheduled Tribes ; Scheduled Castes ; employment quota ; public sector ; India

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Prakash, Nishith
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2020

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/227374
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET