Those Who Can't Sort, Steal: Caste, Occupational Mobility, and Rent-Seeking in Rural India

Arbeitspapier

Three important features of Indian labor markets enduringly coexist: rent-seeking, occupational immobility, and caste. These facts are puzzling, given theories that predict static, equilibrium social inequality without conflict. Our model explains these facts as an equilibrium outcome. Some people switch caste-associated occupations for an easier source of rents, rather than for productivity. This undermines trust between castes and shuts down occupational mobility, which further encourages rent-seeking due to an inability of workers to sort into occupations. We motivate our contribution with novel stylized facts exploiting a unique survey question on casteism in India, which we show is associated with rent-seeking.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 12538

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration ; Labor Discrimination ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Coercive Labor Markets
• Thema: caste ; occupational mobility ; rent-seeking ; India ; labour markets in developing countries

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Lawson, Nicholas ; Spears, Dean
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
• (wo): Bonn
• (wann): 2019

Weitere Informationen

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/207364
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 10.03.2025, 11:44 MEZ