Author : Nandini Krishnan
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (474 download)
Book Synopsis Essays on Caste, Discrimination and Affirmative Action by : Nandini Krishnan
Download or read book Essays on Caste, Discrimination and Affirmative Action written by Nandini Krishnan and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract: This dissertation explores theoretical explanations for the channels through which historical institutions perpetuate inter-group inequality, and empirically examines the effectiveness of affirmative action policies in empowering historically disadvantaged groups in India through the provision of public goods and the implementation of rural development programs. The first chapter provides a theoretical framework to analyze the role of beliefs generated by historical institutions such as India's caste system in explaining the persistence of unequal access to employment opportunities. The model identifies how employers and potential applicants in a labor market, operating on the basis of common prior beliefs and rational learning, can persistently hold self-fulfilling but incorrect posterior beliefs about the abilities of the low caste group. The model provides an explanation for how agents might come to have differential 'tastes' for employing different groups, and examines the implications of equal pay for equal work, minimum wages, and job quota policies in this context. The rest of the dissertation examines how changes in the distribution of political power can alter historical inequities. The second chapter focuses on the impact of a program of affirmative action that mandates political representation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) in state legislatures on the provision and location of rural public goods in India. Using village-level data from 9 Indian states aggregated to the district and constituency level, my findings suggest that SC politicians provide relatively more primary schools in villages in their districts and constituencies, locating these so as to benefit both SC and ST. The third chapter examines the extent to which political reservations in local governments mitigate the capture of local governments by traditional elites and influence the process of allocation of resources across and within local governments in Karnataka. We focus on a single program, the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY). Our results suggest that the scale of SGRY resources devolved to local governments follows the formula stipulated for intergovernmental fiscal transfers. The within government allocation of resources reveals sources of inter-village inequalities in the distribution of fiscal resources, with villages represented by SC and ST representatives receiving fewer resources.