Difference in choice of occupation among linguistic communities of Karachi

Alvi, Mohsin (2019): Difference in choice of occupation among linguistic communities of Karachi.

Abstract

Pakistan is a country where more than 57 languages are being spoken, belong to different cultural background. Karachi, being the biggest city and the major economic arena of the country, is a place where many communities reside together. To name the major communities, there are Urdu speaking, Memon, Makrani, Agha Khani, Hazara, Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Bohri, Pashtun, Punjabi, Balochi, Behari, Bangali and Sindhi. The aim of the present research is to investigate if there a difference exists in the choice of occupation in the major linguistic communities in Karachi. The occupations were categorized into three domains: business, government jobs, and private jobs. A forth category was made for the people who were jobless. The sample of 479 participants consisted of 331 men and 48 women out of whom 83 belonged to Bangali, 99 Memon, 53 Punjabi, 17 Pushto, 125 Sindhi, and 102 to Urdu community. Participants were asked two simple questions: which linguistic community they belong to, and what occupation they belong to. Results demonstrated difference in the choice of occupation among different linguistic communities. Memon and Bangali prefer to be a businessman while a bigger proportion of private jobs is occupied by Urdu speakers while the government sector is predominantly a place of job for Sindhi speakers.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Languages, Occupations, Gender, Descriptive Statistics, Karachi
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics; M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M1 - Business Administration; N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development

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