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The growth of free markets or capitalism does not create better employment for Dalits. It opens up new spaces for them, but several other spaces are also concurrently shut down.

Editor's note: Do you think the market is impersonal? Or oblivious to race or caste? For mainstream economists, the growth of free markets—via the development of capitalism—would ensure that all race- or caste-based discriminations fade away. A market does not distinguish between a white or a black worker, or an upper-caste or a lower-caste worker. So, if a wage difference exists between two workers of different races or castes (of course, after adjusting for all other differences), competition in the market should create a wage arbitrage and wages should ultimately equalize. However, evidence is to the contrary. There is no equal pay for equal work in most capitalist labour markets. In the US, Black and Hispanic workers have lower annual average earnings than white workers even when they are on the same job with the same experience and education. According to one study, the difference in pay attributable to race was about $1,400 per year. In India, too, about 33-50% of the raw wage differentials between upper-caste and lower-caste workers in regular wage employment are argued to be explained by caste identities. …
The growth of free markets or capitalism does not create better employment for Dalits. It opens up new spaces for them, but several other spaces are also concurrently shut down.

Editor's note: Do you think the market is impersonal? Or oblivious to race or caste? For mainstream economists, the growth of free markets—via the development of capitalism—would ensure that all race- or caste-based discriminations fade away. A market does not distinguish between a white or a black worker, or an upper-caste or a lower-caste worker. So, if a wage difference exists between two workers of different races or castes (of course, after adjusting for all other differences), competition in the market should create a wage arbitrage and wages should ultimately equalize. However, evidence is to the contrary. There is no equal pay for equal work in most capitalist labour markets. In the US, Black and Hispanic workers have lower annual average earnings than white workers even when they are on the same job with the same experience and education. According to one study, the difference in pay attributable to race was about $1,400 per year. In India, too, about 33-50% of the raw wage differentials between upper-caste and lower-caste workers in regular wage employment are argued to be explained by caste identities. …
The newly announced levy on UPI payments undermines the very foundation of using digital payments for stock market investing. Brokers are in a tizzy.
India’s second-largest brokerage by active clients wants to handle IPOs as a merchant banker. But gaining a foothold in the highly competitive sector is easier said than done.
Influence cannot be manufactured through diaspora networks, carefully branded events or political donations. It requires honesty and credibility.
The newly announced levy on UPI payments undermines the very foundation of using digital payments for stock market investing. Brokers are in a tizzy.
India’s second-largest brokerage by active clients wants to handle IPOs as a merchant banker. But gaining a foothold in the highly competitive sector is easier said than done.
Influence cannot be manufactured through diaspora networks, carefully branded events or political donations. It requires honesty and credibility.