Abstract
Notwithstanding the large decline in poverty in Bihar and UP during 2004–2005 and 2011–2012, incidence of poverty among Dalits continues to remain high in comparison to OBCs and upper castes. The article examining the nature of poverty among Dalits in Bihar and UP situates the high incidence of poverty among them in structural and institutional factors. More than 90% of Dalits living in the two states are either landless or own marginal land holdings and have an abysmal representation in the ownership of private enterprises. As a result, the majority of Dalit households eke out a livelihood through casual wage work, where many of them earn less than the stipulated minimum wage. The article, using the Oaxaca–Blinder model, re-establishes the fact that Dalits and other marginalised social groups face discrimination in the wage labour market. About 85% of Dalit workers in Bihar and 90% in UP are either working poor or ‘vulnerable to poor’, and even a small economic shock can push them below the poverty line.
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