Entrepreneurship or Survival? Caste and Gender of Small Business in India

Unit-level data from the registered manufacturing segment of the Third and Fourth rounds of the Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) census data for 2001-2 and 2006-7 is used to understand the changes in involvement and dynamics not only of Dalits (officially, Scheduled Castes, or SCs), but also of other marginalized groups, specifically Adivasis (officially, Scheduled Tribes, or STs) and women, in this sector. Clear and persistent caste and gender disparities in virtually all enterprise characteristics in the registered manufacturing MSME sector are found. [CDE Working Paper No. 228]. URL:[http://www.cdedse.org/pdf/work228.pdf].