Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Social Identity, Behavior, and Personality

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

Social Identity, Behavior, and Personality: Evidence from India

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
Close
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>3/04/2023
<mark>Journal</mark>Journal of Development Studies
Issue number4
Volume59
Number of pages18
Pages (from-to)472-489
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date7/11/22
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

Hierarchies in social identities are integrally related to divergences in economic status. In India, caste is a significant social identity where discriminatory practices have resulted in poor outcomes for the lower castes. While there is considerable research on differences in economic outcomes along caste lines, there is limited work on behavioral preferences and personality traits that can also be adversely affected by such identity hierarchies, and that are important determinants of educational attainment and labor market performance. Combining rich data from incentivized tasks and surveys conducted among a large sample of university students, we find that the historically marginalized Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCSTs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) report lower scores than upper castes along several dimensions of economic behavior, such as competitiveness and confidence and personality traits, such as grit, locus of control, and conscientiousness. Further, socioeconomic status has a limited compensatory role in mitigating these gaps.

Bibliographic note

Published version of the working paper -> Social Identity, Behavior, and Personality: Evidence from India Dasgupta, U., Mani, S., Sharma, S. & Singhal, S., 21/10/2020, Lancaster: Lancaster University, Department of Economics, (Economics Working Papers Series).