Many consider caste as an outdated institution, but it thrives in post-liberalisation India. The establishment and running of businesses tap into caste networks, both in terms of arranging finance and providing access to a ready workforce.
By and large, caste has only been studied from a religious, social and political angle. Though it is widely accepted that caste has economic ramifications, any study of this aspect has been limited to looking at caste groups in terms of their per capita income, their representation in various professions, and other statistical details.
Caste as Social Capital examines the workings of caste through the lens of business, economics and entrepreneurship. It interrogates the role caste plays in the economic sphere in terms of facilitating the nuts and bolts of business and entrepreneurship: finance, markets and workforce.
Through this qualitative view of caste, an entirely new picture emerges of caste which forces one to view this age-old institution in new light.
Prof. R. Vaidyanathan is a retired Professor of Finance at IIM, Bangalore. He is a two-time Fulbright scholar and was a Fellow of ICSSR. He has been a Visiting Professor at various universities in the USA and UK and was selected by Business Today as one of the ten best professors at all IIMs.
He has the rare privilege of being is a committee-member of many regulatory bodies, such as RBI, SEBI, PFRDA and IRDA. He is a consultant to many organisations and is on the board of many corporates. He is on the advisory council of Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi.
His earlier books—India Uninc and Black Money and Tax Havens (both published by Westland)—were well-received by experts, policy planners and practitioners.
Prof. R. Vaidyanathan is now Cho S. Ramaswamy Visiting Professor of Public Policy at Sastra University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.
Caste as Social Capital will release on 27 March 2019 across all online and offline bookstores in India
Price: INR 299 | Imprint: Westland