Wage-Differentials in India’s Construction Industry

Workers in India's construction industry are extremely diverse in nature, ranging from large number of unskilled workers to highly skilled engineers and technicians. The present study employs the panel regression technique to test the extended version of Mincerian wage equation for six different groups of construction workers. The results showed that work-experience is the most significant factor that influences the wages of India's construction workers whereas general education (years of schooling) is insignificant unlike other industries (where general education plays a crucial role in increasing the wage-rates). Also, depending on the nature of work, location, sector etc., technical education and formal vocation education play an important role in influencing the wages of the construction workers.