[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cty/dpaper/13-01.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Earnings and Social Background: An evaluation of caste/ethnic wage differentials in the Nepalese labor market

Author

Listed:
  • Mainali, R. M.
  • Jafarey, S.
  • Montes-Rojas, G.
Abstract
This paper examines the sources of wage differentials among caste/ethnic groups, employing national survey data from Nepal. Our study shows that, in countries such as Nepal which have imperfect labour markets, the conventional Oaxaca decomposition methodology fails to estimate precisely the source of wage differential. Using an extended model, occupational choice, firm size distribution and the interaction between these two are employed along with the conventionally used measures of human capital endowments of different groups, to estimate these effects. Our results indicate that the lack of access to better paying occupations and larger firms, rather than differences in human capital, are the main factors underlying the caste/ethnic wage differentia in Nepal. Furthermore, empirical evidence is not found in favour of government policy of "affirmative action" to contribute yet in narrowing down the caste/ethnic wage differential in the labour market.

Suggested Citation

  • Mainali, R. M. & Jafarey, S. & Montes-Rojas, G., 2013. "Earnings and Social Background: An evaluation of caste/ethnic wage differentials in the Nepalese labor market," Working Papers 13/01, Department of Economics, City University London.
    • Handle: RePEc:cty:dpaper:13/01
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/2017/1/mainali.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schmidt, Christoph M & Zimmermann, Klaus F, 1991. "Work Characteristics, Firm Size and Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(4), pages 705-710, November.
    2. Juan Pablo Atal & Hugo Nopo & Natalia Winder, 2009. "New Century, Old Disparities: Gender and Ethnic Wage Gaps in Latin America," Research Department Publications 4640, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    3. Darity, William A, Jr & Williams, Rhonda M, 1985. "Peddlers Forever? Culture, Competition, and Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 256-261, May.
    4. Deshpande, Ashwani, 2011. "The Grammar of Caste: Economic Discrimination in Contemporary India," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198072034.
    5. Juan Pablo Atal & Hugo Nopo & Natalia Winder, 2009. "New Century, Old Disparities: Gender and Ethnic Wage Gaps in Latin America," Research Department Publications 4640, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    6. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162, April.
    7. Vietorisz, Thomas & Harrison, Bennett, 1973. "Labor Market Segmentation: Positive Feedback and Divergent Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(2), pages 366-376, May.
    8. Phelps, Edmund S, 1972. "The Statistical Theory of Racism and Sexism," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(4), pages 659-661, September.
    9. Alan S. Blinder, 1973. "Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 8(4), pages 436-455.
    10. Kenneth Arrow, 1971. "The Theory of Discrimination," Working Papers 403, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    11. Patrinos, Harry Anthony, 1997. "Differences in education and earnings across ethnic groups in Guatemala," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 809-821.
    12. repec:pri:indrel:dsp014t64gn18f is not listed on IDEAS
    13. William A. Darity & Patrick L. Mason, 1998. "Evidence on Discrimination in Employment: Codes of Color, Codes of Gender," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 63-90, Spring.
    14. N. Jayaram & Surendra K. Gupta & A.P. Barnabas & Sachchidananda & P.S. Pachauri & M.L. Khattar & B.N. Sampath & H. R. Khanna, 1985. "India," India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, , vol. 41(1), pages 177-179, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pathak, Prakash & Schündeln, Matthias, 2022. "Social hierarchies and the allocation of development aid: Evidence from the 2015 earthquake in Nepal," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Peter A. Riach & Judith Rich, 2010. "An Experimental Investigation of Age Discrimination in the English Labor Market," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 99-100, pages 169-185.
    2. Francis Dania V. & de Oliveira Angela C. M. & Dimmitt Carey, 2019. "Do School Counselors Exhibit Bias in Recommending Students for Advanced Coursework?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(4), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Ram Mainali & Saqib Jafarey & Gabriel Montes-Rojas, 2017. "Earnings and Caste: An Evaluation of Caste Wage Differentials in the Nepalese Labour Market," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(3), pages 396-421, March.
    4. Ashwini Deshpande & Smriti Sharma, 2016. "Disadvantage and discrimination in self-employment: caste gaps in earnings in Indian small businesses," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 46(2), pages 325-346, February.
    5. Carlsson, Magnus & Fumarco, Luca & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2013. "Artifactual Evidence of Discrimination in Correspondence Studies? A Replication of the Neumark Method," IZA Discussion Papers 7619, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Tushar Agrawal, 2014. "Gender and caste-based wage discrimination in India: some recent evidence [Geschlecht und Kaste-ansässige Lohndiskriminierung in Indien: Einige Neue Beweise]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 47(4), pages 329-340, December.
    7. Flávio Kauê Fiuza-Moura & Katy Maia & Solange Cassia Inforzato de Souza & Magno Rogério Gomes & Paulo Reis Mourão, 2019. "The luck of being of the right gender and color: a detailed discussion about the wage gaps in the Brazilian manufacturing industry," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 1275-1300, May.
    8. Javier Yabrudy, 2011. "Discriminación étnica e ingresos en la Isla de San Andrés, Colombia," Revista de Economía del Rosario, Universidad del Rosario, November.
    9. Frijters, Paul & Shields, Michael A. & Theodoropoulos, Nikolaos & Wheatley Price, Stephen, 2003. "Testing for Employee Discrimination Using Matched Employer-Employee Data: Theory and Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 807, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Jan Cadil & Martin Kopecky & Tomas Jurcik, 2022. "Job grade camouflage: When low gender pay gap does not mean equal pay," International Journal of Economic Sciences, European Research Center, vol. 11(2), pages 28-47, November.
    11. Didier, Nicolás, 2021. "Does the expansion of higher education reduce gender gaps in the labor market? Evidence from a natural experiment," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    12. Alexandra Cortés Aguilar & María Alejandra Flórez Vera, 2016. "Diferencias salariales por género en el departamento de Santander - Colombia," Apuntes del Cenes, Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, vol. 35(61), pages 267-302, January.
    13. Ramiro Rodríguez Revilla, 2013. "Equidad Laboral para Mujeres Mayores de 40 Años en Colombia," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0144, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    14. Javier Cano-Urbina & Patrick L. Mason, 2016. "Acculturation and the labor market in Mexico," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-29, December.
    15. Chen, Yiu Por (Vincent) & Zhang, Yuan, 2018. "A decomposition method on employment and wage discrimination and its application in urban China (2002–2013)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 1-12.
    16. Gustavo Canavire-Bacarreza & Luis C. Carvajal-Osorio, 2020. "Two Stories of Wage Dynamics in Latin America: Different Policies, Different Outcomes," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 128-168, June.
    17. Clémence Berson, 2016. "Local labor markets and taste-based discrimination," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-21, December.
    18. Jan Ondrich & Stephen Ross & John Yinger, 2003. "Now You See It, Now You Don't: Why Do Real Estate Agents Withhold Available Houses from Black Customers?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(4), pages 854-873, November.
    19. S. Madheswaran & Smrutirekha Singhari, 2016. "Social exclusion and caste discrimination in public and private sectors in India: A decomposition analysis," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 59(2), pages 175-201, June.
    20. Hübler, Olaf, 2003. "Geschlechtsspezifische Lohnunterschiede (Gender-specific wage differentials)," Mitteilungen aus der Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 36(4), pages 539-559.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labour Market Discrimination; Caste; Ethnicity;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cty:dpaper:13/01. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Research Publications Librarian (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/decituk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.