Articles by U S Mishra

The availability of information from the pan-India household survey, the National Family Health Survey, facilitates the adoption of the global multidimensional poverty framework and helps in generating results for the Indian states and districts, but it fails to capture the true level of multiple deprivations in better-off states and urban areas. The explicit limitation of the fresh endeavour by the NITI Aayog is its lack of comparability across the spectrum of human development within the country.

It is said that reduction in poverty has been the highest ever in India between 2004-05 and 2009-10. But evaluating the data across various population subgroups, it turns out that this reduction is not inclusive. It entirely excludes some groups with very high incidence of poverty, while there has been an increase in relative deprivation in some states.

This article utilises the National Family Health Survey-3 data and presents an empirical assessment of income-related health inequality in India. It undertakes a state-level analysis of inequities in child health by employing the widely accepted measures of concentration curves and concentration indices. It finds that the poorer sections of the population are beleaguered with ill health whether in the quest for child survival or due to anxieties pertaining to child nutrition. Further, an attempt is made to comprehend the relationship between income inequality and health status in the Indian context. The analysis reveals that the degree of health inequalities escalates when the rising average income levels of the population are accompanied by rising income inequalities. The income-poor sections have different needs and therefore, planning and intervention necessitates an understanding of the sources of inequality and recognition of the vulnerable groups to arrive at efficient resource allocation and policy decisions.

Does Son Preference Matter?
S Irudaya Rajan U S Mishra T K Vimala It has been observed that sex preference of children influences a family's fertility decisions. This article examines data derived from a number of surveys to examine whether the acceptance of a permanent method of contraception is associated with the sex composition of living children.