Poverty Dynamics in Rural Orissa: Transitions in Assets and Occupations over Generations

Family histories are collected for a random sample of 800 households. Households are classified into social groups according to the assets-occupations mix at present and at grandfather's time. Transitions are described, and to some extent explained, by random events at grandfather's time as well as the interaction between initial land and social identity. Fifty percent of the households are trapped at the bottom of the social hierarchy for three generations. In particular scheduled tribes, in contrast to scheduled castes, are trapped in poverty. Early natural disasters have a negative effect, but only for the few households with large land holdings.