Business of caste in India

Abstract

Caste, a traditional institution that determines an individual's social hierarchy, has dominated India's Hindu society for centuries. Historically, castes are endogamous and have been associated with occupations, although there is some flexibility. As a result, caste, albeit a cultural construct, has in uenced the socio-economic status of individuals. However, it has also impacted myriads other economic and political outcomes such as rural-urban migration and public good provision. In this paper, we examine the caste composition of the boards of directors of large firmss in India. We found that members on a board tend to belong to the same caste. The average caste concentration of boards is higher than the proportions of caste groups in the overall population in India, suggesting a role for caste considerations in decisions about hiring corporate directors.