Wealth Inequality: Evidence from Two Villages in Bihar

Madhura Swaminathan and Shruti Nagbhushan
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Shruti Nagbhushan: PhD candidate, SOAS, University of London, shruti.gubbi@gmail.com

Journal, 2022, vol. 12, issue 1, 66-89

Abstract: This paper examines inequality in ownership of wealth in two villages of North Bihar, drawing on data from the PARI surveys conducted in 2012. The analysis showed extreme levels of inequality, among the highest of the 23 villages surveyed by PARI. Inequality in wealth across socio-economic classes was extremely high, with the top one per cent of households comprising landlords and capitalist farmers owning the bulk of all assets of resident households and the class of manual workers owning a minuscule share of total assets. The present study provides concrete evidence of the vast gap between the wealth of a manual worker and a landlord. Land remained the most important component of household wealth, including among the very rich. Given the strong correlation between caste and class, we found, predictably, that Scheduled Castes were the group worst off in terms of asset ownership, with members of the Extremely Backward Classes close behind. There was heterogeneity among Backward Class (BC) households

Keywords: Class and caste in Bihar; wealth and asset inequality; asset poverty; village studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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