Caste System
In standard economics, individuals are rational actors and economic forces undermine institutions that impose large inefficiencies. The persistence of the caste system is evidence of the need for psychologically more realistic models of decision-making in economics. The caste system divides South Asian society into hereditary groups whose lowest ranks are represented as innately polluted. After the historical encounter between colonial powers and South Asia, caste became capable of expressing and systematizing what had been diverse forms of social identity, community, and organization. This paper reviews work that estimates the economic costs of the caste system in particular environments: (1) In North India, discrimination between higher-caste landowners and lower-caste tenants in markets for groundwater for irrigation reduces the tenants' agricultural yields by 45 percent. (2) Making caste identity public in North Indian classrooms reduces the cognitive performance of low-caste boys by 23 percent. (3) Because of lower-caste men's control of working-class occupations, the proportion of lower-caste children enrolled in English-language schools in Mumbai after India opened itself up to the world market grew only one-fourth as quickly for boys as for girls, restricting boys' occupational mobility. Given the benefit of access to caste-based networks, most Indians practice caste endogamy. The caste system is a dramatic example of an institution to which it may pay each individual to conform because others conform. The caste system also illustrates the two-way influence between people and institutions emphasized in psychology: people construct institutions, and institutions shape understandings. Abolition by law of an institution may change neither understandings nor behavior.
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| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English en_US |
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Washington, DC: World Bank
2016-12
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| Subjects: | culture, caste, discrimination, endogamy, stereotype threat, social identity, psychology, institutions, behavioral economics, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/452461482847661084/Caste-system https://hdl.handle.net/10986/25832 |
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dig-okr-10986258322024-07-28T09:05:40Z Caste System Hoff, Karla culture caste discrimination endogamy stereotype threat social identity psychology institutions behavioral economics In standard economics, individuals are rational actors and economic forces undermine institutions that impose large inefficiencies. The persistence of the caste system is evidence of the need for psychologically more realistic models of decision-making in economics. The caste system divides South Asian society into hereditary groups whose lowest ranks are represented as innately polluted. After the historical encounter between colonial powers and South Asia, caste became capable of expressing and systematizing what had been diverse forms of social identity, community, and organization. This paper reviews work that estimates the economic costs of the caste system in particular environments: (1) In North India, discrimination between higher-caste landowners and lower-caste tenants in markets for groundwater for irrigation reduces the tenants' agricultural yields by 45 percent. (2) Making caste identity public in North Indian classrooms reduces the cognitive performance of low-caste boys by 23 percent. (3) Because of lower-caste men's control of working-class occupations, the proportion of lower-caste children enrolled in English-language schools in Mumbai after India opened itself up to the world market grew only one-fourth as quickly for boys as for girls, restricting boys' occupational mobility. Given the benefit of access to caste-based networks, most Indians practice caste endogamy. The caste system is a dramatic example of an institution to which it may pay each individual to conform because others conform. The caste system also illustrates the two-way influence between people and institutions emphasized in psychology: people construct institutions, and institutions shape understandings. Abolition by law of an institution may change neither understandings nor behavior. 2017-01-10T18:18:07Z 2017-01-10T18:18:07Z 2016-12 Working Paper Document de travail Documento de trabajo http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/452461482847661084/Caste-system https://hdl.handle.net/10986/25832 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7929 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank application/pdf text/plain Washington, DC: World Bank |
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US |
| component |
Bibliográfico |
| access |
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| databasecode |
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| tag |
biblioteca |
| region |
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| libraryname |
Biblioteca del Banco Mundial |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
culture caste discrimination endogamy stereotype threat social identity psychology institutions behavioral economics culture caste discrimination endogamy stereotype threat social identity psychology institutions behavioral economics |
| spellingShingle |
culture caste discrimination endogamy stereotype threat social identity psychology institutions behavioral economics culture caste discrimination endogamy stereotype threat social identity psychology institutions behavioral economics Hoff, Karla Caste System |
| description |
In standard economics, individuals are
rational actors and economic forces undermine institutions
that impose large inefficiencies. The persistence of the
caste system is evidence of the need for psychologically
more realistic models of decision-making in economics. The
caste system divides South Asian society into hereditary
groups whose lowest ranks are represented as innately
polluted. After the historical encounter between colonial
powers and South Asia, caste became capable of expressing
and systematizing what had been diverse forms of social
identity, community, and organization. This paper reviews
work that estimates the economic costs of the caste system
in particular environments: (1) In North India,
discrimination between higher-caste landowners and
lower-caste tenants in markets for groundwater for
irrigation reduces the tenants' agricultural yields by
45 percent. (2) Making caste identity public in North Indian
classrooms reduces the cognitive performance of low-caste
boys by 23 percent. (3) Because of lower-caste men's
control of working-class occupations, the proportion of
lower-caste children enrolled in English-language schools in
Mumbai after India opened itself up to the world market grew
only one-fourth as quickly for boys as for girls,
restricting boys' occupational mobility. Given the
benefit of access to caste-based networks, most Indians
practice caste endogamy. The caste system is a dramatic
example of an institution to which it may pay each
individual to conform because others conform. The caste
system also illustrates the two-way influence between people
and institutions emphasized in psychology: people construct
institutions, and institutions shape understandings.
Abolition by law of an institution may change neither
understandings nor behavior. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| topic_facet |
culture caste discrimination endogamy stereotype threat social identity psychology institutions behavioral economics |
| author |
Hoff, Karla |
| author_facet |
Hoff, Karla |
| author_sort |
Hoff, Karla |
| title |
Caste System |
| title_short |
Caste System |
| title_full |
Caste System |
| title_fullStr |
Caste System |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Caste System |
| title_sort |
caste system |
| publisher |
Washington, DC: World Bank |
| publishDate |
2016-12 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/452461482847661084/Caste-system https://hdl.handle.net/10986/25832 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT hoffkarla castesystem |
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1806032124176760832 |