Mobility and Perception of Socioeconomic Status among Tribal and Caste Group
Author(s)
Biswas, Urmi Nanda; Pandey, Janak
Abstract
The article reports the findings of a study related to the perception of social status, economic condition, and relative poverty among the socioeconomically mobile and immobile groups belonging to three different segments of the Hindu society – scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, and upper caste. Mobility was assessed using an intergenerational mobility scale. The results suggested that the respondents’ perception of economic condition and physical quality of living were significantly affected by their membership in the caste groups. The caste and mobility interaction was significant for perceived economic condition and relative poverty. The findings suggested that the immobile upper caste respondents perceived their social status as higher than did their counterparts in the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste groups. Moreover, perception of status of both scheduled caste and scheduled tribe groups did not improve with their socioeconomic mobility.
