Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/146251 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Working Paper No. 2016/60
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
The persistent gap in economic outcomes between the upper and lower caste groups in India is typically explained through differences in endowments and the presence of discrimination. While there is sizable literature that examines caste gaps in physical and intellectual human capital, this paper contributes to a small literature that evaluates caste differentials in behavioural preferences and personality traits that are possibly associated with the persistent economic gap between these castes. Using data from experiments and surveys conducted among a large sample of Indian undergraduate students, we find significant caste differences in behaviour and personality such that Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes are less likely to be endowed with the behavioural preferences and personality traits that tend to affect educational attainment, labour market performance, and overall wellbeing positively. Our results have implications for revising the focus of current caste-based policy formulations.
Subjects: 
behaviour
personality
caste
artefactual field experiments
India
JEL: 
I23
C9
C18
J24
O15
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
ISBN: 
978-92-9256-103-1
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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