A Distributional Analysis of Social Group Inequality in Rural India

This paper examines the differences in welfare, as measured by per capita expenditure (PCE), between social groups in rural India across the entire welfare distribution. The paper establishes that the disadvantage suffered by two historically disadvantaged groups – Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) – is underestimated when the comparison group is Non-SCs/STs rather than general category (mostly higher castes). The ST households are the most disadvantaged followed by the SC and the Other Backward Caste households with respect to general category households, and the disadvantage exists across the entire distribution. Better covariates and better returns to those covariates contribute to the advantage of the general category households. The findings suggest that the policies to raise the human capital and strengthening the other productive assets of the SC and the ST households must remain a focus of attention besides promoting a more active labor market in rural India.India, social groups, inequality, quantile regression decomposition

Progress in Participation in Tertiary Education in India from 1983 to 2004

Using nationally representative household surveys, this paper examines the trends in attainment, enrollment, and access to tertiary (higher) education in India from 1983 to 2005. The findings suggest that there has been considerable progress in attainment and participation; however, they remain low. Important gaps exist in enrollment between rich and poor, rural and urban areas, men and women, disadvantaged groups and the general population, and states. Analysis of transition rates from secondary education to tertiary education and regression analysis indicate that inequality in tertiary education between disadvantaged groups and the general population is explained by low completion rates of secondary education. Inequality in tertiary education related to income, gender, rural residence, and between states is explained by: (i) differences in completion rates of secondary education, and (ii) differences in the probability of transitioning from secondary education to tertiary education. In particular, the importance of household income has grown markedly. Equitable expansion of secondary education is therefore critical for improving the equity of tertiary education. There is also a need to help qualified youth from low-income families and rural backgrounds to attend tertiary education, in particular the technical and engineering streams, in which participation is lower.access to higher education; access to tertiary education; age cohort; age group; age groups; colleges; competition for entry; completion rate; completion rates degree courses; degrees

Are girls the fairer sex in India? Revisiting intra-household allocation of education expenditure

This paper revisits the issue of the intra-household allocation of education expenditure with the recently available India Human Development Survey which refers to 2005 and covers both urban and rural areas. In addition to the traditional Engel method, the paper utilizes a Hurdle model to disentangle the decision to enroll (incur any educational expenditure) and the decision of how much to spend on education, conditional on enrolling. Finally the paper also uses household fixed effects to examine whether any gender bias is a within-household phenomenon. The paper finds that the traditional Engel method often fails to pick up gender bias where it exists not only because of the aggregation of data at the household-level but also because of aggregation of the two decisions in which gender can have opposite signs. It is found that pro-male gender bias exists in the primary school age group for several states but that the incidence of gender bias increases with age – it is greater in the middle school age group (10-14 years) and greater still in the secondary school age group (15-19 years). However, gender discrimination in the secondary school age group 15-19 takes place mainly through the decision to enroll boys and not girls, and not through differential expenditure on girls and boys. The results also suggest that the extent of pro-male gender bias in educational expenditure is substantially greater in rural than in urban areas. Finally, our results suggest that an important mechanism through which households spend less on girls than boys is by sending sons to fee-charging private schools and daughters to the fee-free government-funded schools.Gender bias, educational expenditure, Engel curve, Hurdle model, India

Income Inequality in Rural India: Decomposing the Gini by Income Sources

This paper examines income inequality in rural India in 1993 and 2005. It attempts to ascertain the contribution of different income sources to overall income inequality, and change in their relative importance between 1993 and 2005 through decomposition of Gini coefficient. The paper finds that income inequality has increased between 1993 and 2005. Agriculture income continues to contribute majorly in total income and income inequality; however its share in total income and total income inequality has declined significantly. A marginal increase in agriculture and salaried income leads to increase in inequality; however, a marginal increase in labor income (both agriculture and non-agriculture) lead to reduction in the income inequality.Gini decomposition, income inequality, income sources, India

Are girls the fairer sex in India? Revisiting intra-household allocation of education expenditure

This paper revisits the issue of the intra-household allocation of education expenditure with the recently available India Human Development Survey which refers to 2005 and covers both urban and rural areas. In addition to the traditional Engel method, the paper utilizes a Hurdle model to disentangle the decision to enroll (incur any educational expenditure) and the decision of how much to spend on education, conditional on enrolling. Finally the paper also uses household fixed effects to examine whether any gender bias is a within-household phenomenon. The paper finds that the traditional Engel method often fails to pick up gender bias where it exists not only because of the aggregation of data at the household-level but also because of aggregation of the two decisions in which gender can have opposite signs. It is found that pro-male gender bias exists in the primary school age group for several states but that the incidence of gender bias increases with age – it is greater in the middle school age group (10-14 years) and greater still in the secondary school age group (15-19 years). However, gender discrimination in the secondary school age group 15-19 takes place mainly through the decision to enroll boys and not girls, and not through differential expenditure on girls and boys. The results also suggest that the extent of pro-male gender bias in educational expenditure is substantially greater in rural than in urban areas. Finally, our results suggest that an important mechanism through which households spend less on girls than boys is by sending sons to fee-charging private schools and daughters to the fee-free government-funded schools.Gender bias, educational expenditure, Engel curve, Hurdle model, India.

A Distributional Analysis of the Public-Private Wage Differential in India

We investigate the public-private wage differential in India using nationally representative micro data. While the existing literature focuses on average wage differential, we study the differences in the wage distributions. The raw wage differential between public and private sector is positive across the entire distribution for both genders irrespective of area of residence. A quantile regression based decomposition analysis reveals that the differences in observed characteristics (covariate effect) account for only a small part of the wage differential at lower quantiles, but a larger part at higher quantiles. At the very top of the distribution, covariate effect account for a majority of the observed wage differential.quantile regression, public-private wage differential, India

The Returns to English-Language Skills in India

India's colonial legacy and linguistic diversity give English an important role in its economy, and this role has expanded due to globalization in recent decades. It is widely believed that there are sizable economic returns to English-language skills in India, but the extent of these returns is unknown due to lack of a microdata set containing measures of both earnings and English ability. In this paper, we use a newly available data set - the India Human Development Survey, 2005 to quantify the effects of English- speaking ability on wages. We find that being fluent in English (compared to not speaking any English) increases hourly wages of men by 34%, which is as much as the return to completing secondary school and half as much as the return to completing a Bachelor's degree. Being able to speak a little English significantly increases male hourly wages 13%. There is considerable heterogeneity in returns to English. More experienced and more educated workers receive higher returns to English. The complementarity between English skills and education appears to have strengthened over time. Only the more educated among young workers earn a premium for English skill, whereas older workers across all education groups do.English Language, Human Capital, India

Returns to English-language skills in India

India's colonial legacy and linguistic diversity give English an important role in its economy, and this role has expanded due to globalization in recent decades. In this study, we use individual-level data from the 2005 India Human Development Survey to quantify the effects of English-language skills on wages. After controlling for age, social group, schooling, geography, and proxies for ability, we find that hourly wages are on average 34% higher for men who speak fluent English and 13% higher for men who speak a little English relative to men who do not speak English. The return to fluent English is as large as the return to completing secondary school and half as large as the return to completing a bachelor's degree. In addition, we find that more experienced and more educated workers receive higher returns to English. The complementarity between English skills and education appears to have strengthened over time-only the more educated among young workers receive a premium for English-speaking ability, whereas older workers across all education groups do.Peer reviewedEconomic