Cash for tolerance

The L.A. Times has a story about a fascinating policy in India: the government is paying $250 to inter-caste couples. In other words, if you marry someone of a lower caste, you get $250.

I love the idea that the government is putting its money where its mouth is in terms of encouraging a breakdown of caste barriers. As Ezra Klein notes, it's as if the US government handed out dollars to interracial couples in the 1970s.

The article notes that this is the latest of a number of equality initiatives: quotas in government and education, business outreach efforts, etc. Many "untouchables" now serve in the higher ranks of government. Yet, in a recent survey, "74% of Indians said inter-caste marriages were unacceptable," and inter-caste marriages often result in a shunning from the higher-caste family, and in a few cases, even "honor killings."

The policy so far has had limited results:

Here in Madhya Pradesh, a state of 60 million people, only 97 couples in the last fiscal year claimed the $250 government award for marriages between Dalits and non-Dalits. Only 14 couples took advantage of the incentive program in the eastern state of Bihar, where caste antagonism among some communities seethes so strongly that some landlords maintain personal militias, sometimes leading to armed battle.

One official proposes raising the amount to $1250, more than a years income for many Indians.

It's a fascinating case-study of the power of government (and economics) to change personal beliefs. It seems to me like it will have limited effect - if love is not enough of a motivator to risk alienation from your entire community, $250 - or even $1250 - seems insufficient.