Abstract: The association between social diversity and state-provided public goods is a central political economy problem. This paper highlights how status inequality is a distinct political channel when diverse groups are spatially segregated. Social status impacts citizens’ ability to petition the state successfully and modulates state favoritism or discrimination. We use data from nearly 600,000 villages to show that caste-based status inequality modifies extant diversity and spatial segregation channels of local public goods politics. Diversity is only negatively associated with local public goods in units where lower-caste groups are demographically dominant. Such diversity deficit is further amplified when higher-caste groups numerically dominate larger administrative units and lower-caste groups are segregated.

About the speaker: Dr Sumit Mishra is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Institute for Financial Management and Research, Sri City. He received PhD in Development Studies, and M.Sc. in Economics from Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research. His thesis looked into the issue of regional imbalances in Maharashtra. His primary research interest lies specifically in three aspects of Indian development story: i) The relationship between caste diversity and access to public goods in villages, ii) The association between segregation and public goods in cities and iii) The movement from farm to non-farm occupations (structural transformation).