Assari Shervin, Zare Hossein
Marginalization-Related Diminished Returns (MDRs) Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Department of Internal Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
Open J Educ Res. 2024;4(5):243-255. doi: 10.31586/ojer.2024.1056. Epub 2024 Sep 5.
Education is widely recognized as a key driver of wealth generation, providing individuals with the opportunity to enhance their socioeconomic status. However, the effectiveness of education in generating wealth varies significantly across different social groups. In the United States, research has shown that Black individuals experience weaker economic returns on education compared to their White counterparts, a phenomenon explained by the theory of Minorities' Diminished Returns (MDRs). Although MDRs have been documented in various countries, their relevance to caste-based disparities in India remains unexplored.
This study aims to investigate the caste-based diminished returns of education on wealth in India. We hypothesize that the returns on educational attainment, in terms of wealth generation, will be weaker for individuals from Scheduled Castes (SCs) compared to those from higher castes, using data from the India Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS).
This study was a cross-sectional analysis of DHS -2019/2021 data from India, examining the relationship between educational attainment and wealth across different caste groups (scheduled castes and non-scheduled castes). Multivariate regression models will be employed to assess the interaction between caste and education in predicting wealth outcomes, controlling for relevant covariates such as age, gender, and region.
The study is expected to find that the returns on education, in terms of wealth, are significantly weaker for individuals from Scheduled Castes compared to those from higher castes. This would indicate that caste-based discrimination continues to hinder the economic progress of Scheduled Castes, even when they achieve similar levels of education as their upper-caste counterparts.
The findings of this study will extend the MDR framework to the Indian context, demonstrating that caste-based disparities result in diminished returns on education for wealth generation. This study underscores the need for targeted policies that address the specific barriers faced by Scheduled Castes in translating educational attainment into economic success and highlights the ongoing impact of caste-based discrimination in India.
教育被广泛认为是创造财富的关键驱动力，为个人提供了提高其社会经济地位的机会。然而，教育在创造财富方面的有效性在不同社会群体中差异很大。在美国，研究表明，与白人相比，黑人在教育方面获得的经济回报较弱，这一现象可以用少数群体回报递减理论（MDRs）来解释。尽管MDRs在各个国家都有记录，但它们与印度基于种姓的差距之间的相关性仍未得到探索。
本研究旨在调查印度基于种姓的教育对财富回报递减情况。我们假设，利用印度人口与健康调查（DHS）的数据，与高种姓的人相比，来自在册种姓（SCs）的人在创造财富方面的教育程度回报会更弱。
本研究是对来自印度的DHS - 2019/2021数据进行的横断面分析，研究不同种姓群体（在册种姓和非在册种姓）的教育程度与财富之间的关系。将采用多变量回归模型来评估种姓和教育在预测财富结果方面的相互作用，同时控制年龄、性别和地区等相关协变量。
预计该研究将发现，与高种姓的人相比，来自在册种姓的人在财富方面的教育回报明显较弱。这表明，即使在册种姓的人与高种姓的人达到了相似的教育水平，基于种姓的歧视仍然阻碍着他们的经济进步。
本研究的结果将把MDR框架扩展到印度背景下，表明基于种姓的差距导致了在创造财富方面教育回报递减。这项研究强调了需要制定有针对性的政策，以解决在册种姓在将教育程度转化为经济成功方面面临的具体障碍，并突出了印度基于种姓的歧视的持续影响。
