Can Inter-Caste Marriages Reduce Economic Inequalities in Child Nutrition in India? A Panel Data Analysis

RUKMI PRADEEP, International Institute for Population Sciences, India

Endogamous marriages in India reflect a socially segregated society based on religion and caste, perpetuating the existing social stratification and hierarchies. This kind of marital sorting by caste through marriages contributes to the unequal transferring of social capital like education, wealth, and social endowments, thereby reproducing inequalities within and across generations. In this background, the study focuses on inter-caste marriages and their contribution to reducing economic inequality in the child’s nutrition indicators—stunting, wasting, and underweight. We examined the assumption using a macro-level panel dataset (2005-2021), Wagstaff corrected Concentration Index (CI), and the random effects regression model. The study advances the existence of a positive assortative sorting trend in the Indian marriage market based on caste. An increase in inter-caste marriage is associated with declining inequalities in the three child nutrition indicators. Among lower wealth quintiles, inter-caste marriage benefits couples’ children with lower chances of child malnutrition compared to same-caste marriages. The pathway of inter-caste marriages mitigating inequalities in child nutrition outcomes is established through the reduced economic inequality between couples offered by inter-caste marital arrangements. Intermarriages lessen caste hierarchy by embracing social diversity and group differences and highlighting social cohesion.

Keywords: Inequality, Disadvantage and Discrimination, Families, Unions and Households, Econometrics , Health and Morbidity

See paper.