Many Rivers to Cross: Social Identity, Cognition, and Labor Mobility in Rural India

• Author: Suneha Seetahul,Sébastien Michiels,Christophe Jalil Nordman
• DOI: 10.1177/00027162211055990
• Date: 01 September 2021
• Published date: 01 September 2021

66 ANNALS, AAPSS, 697, September 2021

DOI: 10.1177/00027162211055990

Many Rivers to

Cross: Social

Identity,

Cognition, and

Labor Mobility

in Rural India

By

SÉBASTIEN MICHIELS,

CHRISTOPHE JALIL

NORDMAN,

and

SUNEHA SEETAHUL

1055990ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYMANY RIVERS TO CROSS

research-article2021

This study analyzes whether individual skills and per-

sonality traits facilitate labor market mobility of disad-

vantaged groups and rural migrants. We use a panel

dataset of individuals in rural South India to explore the

relationship between individual cognitive skills, person-

ality traits, and income mobility. We take advantage of

intragroup heterogeneity in terms of cognitive skills

and personality traits to examine whether these per-

sonal characteristics enable individuals to overcome

rigid social structures, exploring the role of these skills

and traits in migrants’ income mobility. We show that

despite strong rigidity in the area’s labor market struc-

ture, personality traits are important determinants of

labor mobility, enabling individuals to overcome caste

and gender discrimination, but that these personality

traits do not contribute to increases in migrants’

income mobility.

Keywords: income mobility; cognitive skills; personal-

ity; Tamil Nadu; India

Over the past four decades, India has expe-

rienced rapid changes that have reshaped

the labor structure throughout the country.

Tamil Nadu, one of the most developed, urban-

ized, and industrialized Indian states, is no

exception. The exodus of higher castes from

rural areas to the cities has initiated substantial

transformations of land distribution and labor

Sébastien Michiels is a postdoctoral research fellow at

CNRS (CREST, ENSAE, Paris). His work aims to

explore labor market dynamics in South Asia, focusing

on social inequalities and migration.

Christophe Jalil Nordman is a senior research fellow at

the French Research Institute for Sustainable

Development (IRD), is currently assigned to the research

team DIAL (IRD, PSL University, CNRS), and is a

research associate with the French Institute of

Pondicherry (India). His research focuses on the various

dimensions of labor in developing countries, including

the formation of earnings, skills and social networks,

gender and ethnic/caste discriminations, household vul-

nerabilities, and the labor consequences of migrations.

Correspondence: nordman@dial.prd.fr