Inequality and social unrest in India

Arbeitspapier

We show that inequality triggers social unrest in rural India. We develop a theoretical framework where social unrest is rationally used by civilians to oppose (unfair) surplus sharing by the elite. We predict that the probability of observing social unrest in a village increases with the sum of distances between the (log) average and the lowest incomes. We bring our measure to the data using bank account details in 2,197 Indian villages. We document that a 10% increase in our inequality measure increases by 6.5% the unconditional probability of observing social unrest in a village in a given month.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies Working Paper ; No. HEIDWP08-2023

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions ; Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ; Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
• Subject: Inequality ; Social unrest ; Development ; Redistribution

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Couttenier, Mathieu ; Laurent-Lucchetti, Jérémy ; Vandewalle, Lore
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
• (where): Geneva
• (when): 2023

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/278523
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET