Inequality of Opportunity in Indian Women
TL;DR: In this article, the authors estimate the IOP in economic outcomes among Indian women by using the nationally representative India Human Development Survey 2011-2012, and find that the parental education is the most significant contributor to IOP.
Abstract: Inequality of opportunity (IOp) in any society is defined as that part of overall inequality which arises from factors beyond the control of an individual (circumstances) such as parental education, caste, gender, religion etc. and is thus considered unfair and is against the meritocratic values of a society. Hence, it needs to be controlled and compensated. We estimate the IOp in economic outcomes among Indian women by using the nationally representative India Human Development Survey 2011–2012. We include parental education, caste, religion and region of birth as circumstances. The overall IOp in income ranges from 18–25% and 16–21% (of total income inequality) in urban and rural areas, respectively. The corresponding figures for consumption expenditure are 16–22% and 20–23% in urban and rural areas, respectively. We also estimate the partial contributions of the circumstances to the overall IOp. We find that the parental education is the most significant contributor to IOp in urban areas, whereas, region of birth is the most significant contributor to IOp in rural areas. Fortunately, findings imply that socially and culturally imbedded factors like caste and religion which are more persistent do contribute to the IOp, but, the largest contribution is due to factors like parental education and region which can be relatively easily tackled and addressed with policy interventions.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated whether changes in relative material standards of living between the SCs/STs and upper castes were associated with changes in the incidence of crimes against SCs and STs.
Abstract: Crimes against the historically marginalized Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC and ST) by the upper castes in India represent an extreme form of prejudice and discrimination. In this paper, we investigate whether changes in relative material standards of living between the SCs/STs and upper castes – as measured by the ratio of consumption expenditures of SCs/STs to that of upper castes – are associated with changes in the incidence of crimes against SCs/STs. Based on the hierarchical social structure implied by the caste system, we posit that an increase in the expenditure ratio is positively correlated with the incidence of crimes committed by the upper castes against the lower castes. Using official district level crime data for the period 2001–2010, we find a positive association between crimes and expenditure of SC/ST vis-a-vis the upper castes. Further, distinguishing between violent and non-violent crimes, we find it is the violent crimes that are responsive to changes in economic gaps. Moreover, this relationship is on account of changes in the upper castes’ economic well-being rather than changes in the economic position of the SCs and STs.
71 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used two rounds of Indian National Family Health Surveys and concepts of Inequality of Opportunity and Human Opportunity Indices to measure inequality arising out of unequal access to full immunization and minimum nutrition for Indian children.
Abstract: A child’s access to health care and minimum nutrition should not depend on circumstances such as caste, religion, gender, place of birth, or other parental characteristics, which are beyond the control of a child. This paper uses two rounds of Indian National Family Health Surveys and concepts of Inequality of Opportunity and Human Opportunity Indices to measure inequality arising out of unequal access to full immunization and minimum nutrition for Indian children. The results suggest overall high level of inequality of opportunity with substantial geographical variations. Changes in inequality of opportunity in the two services during 1992-93 to 2005-06 were mixed with some geographical regions outperforming others. The findings also call for substantial policy revisions if the goal of universal access to full immunization and minimum nutrition has to be achieved.
23 citations
TL;DR: Li et al. as mentioned in this paper constructed a pseudo panel sample from the China General Social Survey to study the inequality of opportunity in China, and the results showed that individual circumstances play a prominent role in determining income advantage.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the impact of inequality of opportunity on economic inequality in six countries: Brazil, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Peru and South Africa and the periods of time covered vary from 2004 to 2014.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to shed some light on the behaviour of Inequality of Opportunity (IOp henceforth) in developing countries. The analysis is carried out using microdata collected by national surveys and harmonised by the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). The LIS database incorporates a wide variety of personal harmonised variables, which allow us to made cross-country comparisons for developing countries. More specifically, we analyse six countries: Brazil, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Peru and South Africa and the periods of time covered vary from 2004 to 2014. In order to analyse the impact of inequality of opportunity we compute relative indicators by comparing IOp with economic inequality for each country analysed. Moreover, to check the robustness of our results we include two sensitivity analyses: first, we test the significance of overtime changes using inferential procedures and second, we assess if different economic indicators lead to different conclusions both in the evolution of IOp and overall inequality and in the relative weights of the circumstances that conform IOp. More specifically, regarding the first aim we focus on the disposable equivalised income to measure IOp and Income Inequality and we test if overtime changes are statistically significant using bootstrapping procedures. With regard to the second objective, to test the robustness of the results we compute IOp and Inequality for four different economic aggregates: Personal Income, Labour Personal Income, Consumption and Monetary Consumption. The empirical results of these analyses lead to two interesting conclusions: most of the overtime changes are found to be statistically significant and the use of a specific economic indicator is not as important as it at first seems, leading in most cases to the same conclusions.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used transition/mobility matrices and multiple mobility measures for the examination of intergenerational educational mobility among women (15-49 years) in India.
Abstract: A few studies in India have related daughters’ education to their fathers, but there is little to no evidence when it comes to the intergenerational relation between daughters and mothers’ education. Using India Human Development Survey (IHDS) 2011–2012, the purpose of this paper is to investigate intergenerational educational mobility among women (15–49 years) (vis-a-vis their mothers) for all India.,The study uses transition/mobility matrices and multiple mobility measures for the examination of intergenerational educational mobility among women (15–49 years) in India. The data have been taken from the “India Human Development Survey 2011-12.”,Findings indicate that intergenerational educational mobility at the all-India level is about 0.69, that is, 69 percent of the women acquire a level of education different from their mothers. Of the overall mobility, about 80 percent is contributed by upward mobility whereas the rest is downward. Mobility is greater in urban areas and is highest among the socially advantaged “Others” (or upper) caste group. Also, the upward component is substantially lower for socially disadvantaged groups compared to others. Further, there are large inter-regional variations, with the situation being worst in the central and eastern states such as Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, etc. Moreover, mobility (overall and upward) increases consistently as one moves up the income distribution.,This study is perhaps the first study which comprehensively studies intergenerational educational mobility for women (15–49 years) at an all-India level. Findings not only capture the mobility at the aggregate level but also for different caste groups as well as regional variations and income effect.
3 citations
References
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TL;DR: This paper found that men spend a greater proportion of the income they earn on goods such as alcohol, cigarettes, status consumer goods, and female companionship, while women are more likely to buy goods for children and for general household consumption.
Abstract: Case studies of African households frequently suggest that the identity of
persons earning income affects how that money is spent.' In particular, it is
often claimed that relative to women, men spend a greater proportion of the
income they earn on goods such as alcohol, cigarettes, status consumer
goods, and female companionship'. By contrast, women are more likely to
purchase goods for children and for general household consumption.
881 citations
17 Feb 2014
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that from the perspective of the best available macroeconomic data, there is not a lot of evidence that redistribution has in fact undercut economic growth (except in extreme cases).
Abstract: The Fund has recognized in recent years that one cannot separate issues of economic growth and stability on one hand and equality on the other. Indeed, there is a strong case for considering inequality and an inability to sustain economic growth as two sides of the same coin. Central to the Fund’s mandate is providing advice that will enable members’ economies to grow on a sustained basis. But the Fund has rightly been cautious about recommending the use of redistributive policies given that such policies may themselves undercut economic efficiency and the prospects for sustained growth (the so-called “leaky bucket” hypothesis written about by the famous Yale economist Arthur Okun in the 1970s). This SDN follows up the previous SDN on inequality and growth by focusing on the role of redistribution. It finds that, from the perspective of the best available macroeconomic data, there is not a lot of evidence that redistribution has in fact undercut economic growth (except in extreme cases). One should be careful not to assume therefore—as Okun and others have—that there is a big tradeoff between redistribution and growth. The best available macroeconomic data do not support such a conclusion.
816 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the use of agricultural endowments as an instrument for inequality is used as an approach to problems of measurement and endogeneity of inequality, and the authors find that high inequality is a large and statistically significant barrier to prosperity, good quality institutions, and high schooling.
735 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: Dreze and Sen as discussed by the authors argue that India's main problems lie in the lack of attention paid to the essential needs of the people, especially of the poor, and often of women.
Abstract: When India became independent in 1947 after two centuries of colonial rule, it immediately adopted a firmly democratic political system, with multiple parties, freedom of speech, and extensive political rights The famines of the British era disappeared, and steady economic growth replaced the economic stagnation of the Raj The growth of the Indian economy quickened further over the last three decades and became the second fastest among large economies Despite a recent dip, it is still one of the highest in the world
Maintaining rapid as well as environmentally sustainable growth remains an important and achievable goal for India In An Uncertain Glory, two of India's leading economists argue that the country's main problems lie in the lack of attention paid to the essential needs of the people, especially of the poor, and often of women There have been major failures both to foster participatory growth and to make good use of the public resources generated by economic growth to enhance people's living conditions There is also a continued inadequacy of social services such as schooling and medical care as well as of physical services such as safe water, electricity, drainage, transportation, and sanitation In the long run, even the feasibility of high economic growth is threatened by the underdevelopment of social and physical infrastructure and the neglect of human capabilities, in contrast with the Asian approach of simultaneous pursuit of economic growth and human development, as pioneered by Japan, South Korea, and China
In a democratic system, which India has great reason to value, addressing these failures requires not only significant policy rethinking by the government, but also a clearer public understanding of the abysmal extent of social and economic deprivations in the country The deep inequalities in Indian society tend to constrict public discussion, confining it largely to the lives and concerns of the relatively affluent Dreze and Sen present a powerful analysis of these deprivations and inequalities as well as the possibility of change through democratic practice
708 citations
TL;DR: It is established that China’s income inequality since 2005 has reached very high levels, with the Gini coefficient in the range of 0.53–0.55, and it is argued that China's current high income inequality is significantly driven by structural factors attributable to the Chinese political system and the rural-urban divide.
Abstract: Using multiple data sources, we establish that China's income inequality since 2005 has reached very high levels, with the Gini coefficient in the range of 0.53–0.55. Analyzing comparable survey data collected in 2010 in China and the United States, we examine social determinants that help explain China’s high income inequality. Our results indicate that a substantial part of China’s high income inequality is due to regional disparities and the rural-urban gap. The contributions of these two structural forces are particularly strong in China, but they play a negligible role in generating the overall income inequality in the United States, where individual-level and family-level income determinants, such as family structure and race/ethnicity, play a much larger role.
601 citations