Deepti Goel and Ashwini Deshpande, DSE
Centre for Development Economics
and
Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics
ANNOUNCE A SEMINAR
Caste Identity and Institutions: Perceptions About Remunerative Earnings from Self-Employment in India
by
Deepti Goel and Ashwini Deshpande
Delhi School of Economics
Thursday, 1st October 2015 at 3:00 PM
Venue : Seminar Room (First Floor)
Department of Economics, Delhi School of Economics
All are cordially invited
Abstract
In spite of being legally abolished in India, the caste system continues to pervade many aspects of social and economic life. Against this background, the objective of this paper is to understand how caste identity in contemporary India shapes self-worth measured here using self-reported perceptions about amounts considered as remunerative earnings from self-employment. Do amounts that are considered as remunerative earnings from self-employment vary across caste groups such that lower placed groups perceive lower earnings to be remunerative? Thereafter, we investigate how institutional factors, for instance, the introduction of a targeted employment scheme for the poor or the identity of the political party in power at the state government, alter these perceptions.