Social Identity and Economic Development

This theme foregrounds the constitutive role of social identity in shaping economic processes and outcomes. Moving beyond viewing caste, gender, religion as residual variables, it examines how these identities are embedded within markets, institutions, and technological systems. The research engages with the ways in which identity shapes access to resources, conditions labour market segmentation, and mediates experiences of growth, exclusion, and mobility. It also interrogates how contemporary transformations—particularly those linked to digitalisation and state policy—reconfigure, reproduce, or contest entrenched hierarchies.

In India, persistent and evolving inequalities raise a set of interconnected empirical and conceptual concerns. For instance, how do caste and gender continue to shape access to education, employment, and entrepreneurship across regions? To what extent do rural–urban divides and inter-state variations reinforce or mitigate identity-based disparities? Emerging domains—such as digital and platform economies—also invite closer scrutiny in terms of who gains access and on what terms. Addressing these questions involves the systematic analysis of large-scale datasets, alongside interpretive frameworks that situate observed patterns within broader institutional and policy contexts.

Faculty involved: Angarika Rakshit