Wealth Inequality, Class and Caste in India, 1961-2012

Abstract : I combine data from wealth surveys (NSS-AIDIS) and millionaire lists to produce wealth inequality series for India over the 1961-2012 period. I find a strong rise in wealth concentration in recent decades, in line with recent research using income data. E.g. the top 10% wealth share rose from 45% in year 1981 to 63% in 2012, while the top 1% share rose from 12.5% to 31%. Next, I gather information from censuses and surveys (NSS AIDIS and IHDS) in order to explore the changing relationship between class and caste in India and the mechanisms behind rising inequality.