Economic Stratification in India: Insights from Kerala on Perceptions, Causes, and Policy Interventions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2026.CI.v11.n06.004Keywords:
Economic inequality, Public Perception, Policy Interventions, Redistributive MeasuresAbstract
This study examines how the working class in India, especially in Kerala, perceives economic class differentiation and its impact on their lives. Despite macroeconomic numbers projecting India's growth story, this study adopts a perception-driven approach to relate aggregate numbers with the real economy. An analysis of primary data collected from 120 working people using IBM SPSS reveals that concentration of wealth is recognized by everyone irrespective of their social category or income level. Analysis of the factors that play a role suggests institutional incompetency and day to day cost of living pressure is the main reason for the perceived gap. Importantly, the results show that the public overwhelmingly endorses progressive taxes and a shift to solely income-based welfare. According to the research, the perceived inequality should be addressed as it is necessary to maintain the social contract and democracy in a modernizing economy.
References
[1] World Inequality Lab (2024): Documents that the top 1% in India have seen their wealth shares increase sharply since liberalization, making India one of the most unequal countries globally.
[2] Bussolo et al. (World Bank, 2023): Investigates how subjective beliefs and perceptions of fairness determine public support for redistributive policies.
[3] Kushagra Jain (2025): Analyzes how progressive taxation and public spending on health and education can improve social mobility and reduce lower-end inequality.
[4] Ipsos Equalities Index (2024): Highlights a significant "perception gap" in India between objective economic data and subjective public concern.
