Dynamics and diversity: How are religious minorities faring in the labour Market in Bangladesh?

This paper examines the wage gap between the two main religious groups in Bangladesh, Muslims and Hindus, across the wage distribution, over the period 1999–2009, during which the country experienced both the rise of a more secular political group and stable and high economic growth following the economic liberalisation of the 1990s, with improvements in the labour market and a widening of career opportunities for the minority. Applying unconditional quantile regression models, the paper documents a significant wage advantage for Hindu male workers aged 15–65 across the wage distribution. The key driver of this reverse wage gap is the improvement in their educational qualifications. Migration, changes in the relevant legislation and economic reforms may also play a certain role. The paper also demonstrates that controlling for selection into employment does not eliminate this estimated Hindu wage advantage