Birds of a Feather Flock Together? Examining Caste Diversity During COVID-19 Pandemic in India

The effect of population or social homogeneity has been documented to have mixed evidence on public good provisioning and welfare outcomes. In this paper, we examine the implications of caste-group homogeneity in India in a pandemic setting taking the case of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we assess the effect of spread of COVID-19 infection during the early nationwide lockdown and the subsequent unlocking period. After controlling for a range of confounding possibilities and multiple robustness checks, our findings show that homogeneous districts experienced slower growth in infection. These effects are stronger during the early period of the lockdown but are found to weaken with time. Overall, the influence of caste-group homogeneity remains statistically significant for about 2.5 months (about 75 days) after the initiation of the lockdown but turns insignificant thereafter. Notably, we account for a range of unobserved heterogeneities including differential testing, mobility and under reporting of cases. We find suggestive evidence of higher engagement of community health workers, higher socialization and involvement in unpaid voluntary works among residents of caste homogenous localities, which can be some potential pathways that explain our results. The findings underscore the importance of strengthening social cohesion among community members. Based on these results, we recommend identification of caste-group diverse areas for zoning and implementing a differentiated policy response.