Stuck at the bottom: caste-based discrimination, relative poverty, and the mechanisms of intergenerational opportunity traps

Sudeshna Maitra and Sudarsana Kundu

No wp-2026-29, WIDER Working Paper Series from World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER)

Abstract: How do systemic modes of discrimination—such as a caste system, or racial bias—impact the transmission of intergenerational opportunities in a developing country? What are the mechanisms by which discriminatory norms in labour and marriage markets affect such opportunities? How could we measure such 'opportunities' over time—using nationally representative cross-sectional data—so as to derive their impact on relative poverty and class formation over time?

Keywords: Poverty; Poverty measurement; Caste; Discrimination; Intergenerational Mobility; Simulation methods (Economics); India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev and nep-mid
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