Caste as an Impediment to Trade

Siwan Anderson

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2011, vol. 3, issue 1, 239-63

Abstract: We compare outcomes across two types of villages in rural India. Villages vary by which caste is dominant (owns the majority of land): either a low or high caste. The key finding is that income is substantially higher for low-caste households residing in villages dominated by a low caste. This seems to be due to a trade breakdown in irrigation water across caste groups. All else equal, lower caste water buyers have agricultural yields which are 45 percent higher if they reside in a village where water sellers are of the same caste compared to one where they are not. (JEL O12, O13, O17, O18, Q15, R23, Z13)

JEL-codes: O12 O13 O17 O18 Q15 R23 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.3.1.239
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (88)

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