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Inequality of Opportunity in Indian Children: The Case of Immunization and Nutrition

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  • Ashish Singh

Abstract

A child’s access to health care and minimum nutrition should not depend on circumstances such as caste, religion, gender, place of birth, or other parental characteristics, which are beyond the control of a child. This paper uses two rounds of Indian National Family Health Surveys and concepts of Inequality of Opportunity and Human Opportunity Indices to measure inequality arising out of unequal access to full immunization and minimum nutrition for Indian children. The results suggest overall high level of inequality of opportunity with substantial geographical variations. Changes in inequality of opportunity in the two services during 1992-93 to 2005-06 were mixed with some geographical regions outperforming others. The findings also call for substantial policy revisions if the goal of universal access to full immunization and minimum nutrition has to be achieved.
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  • Ashish Singh, 2011. "Inequality of Opportunity in Indian Children: The Case of Immunization and Nutrition," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 30(6), pages 861-883, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:poprpr:v:30:y:2011:i:6:p:861-883
    DOI: 10.1007/s11113-011-9214-5
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    Cited by:

    1. Panchanan Das, 2019. "Inequality of Opportunity in Educational Achievement in India: Implications of Earning distribution and Affirmative Action," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 4, pages 116-132.
    2. Akanksha Choudhary & Gowtham T. Muthukkumaran & Ashish Singh, 2019. "Inequality of Opportunity in Indian Women," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 145(1), pages 389-413, August.
    3. Cinzia Di Novi & Harshita Thakare, 2022. "Inequality of Opportunity in Accessing Maternal and Newborn Healthcare Services: Evidence from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(3), pages 1505-1529, December.
    4. Gupta, Prachi & Das, Upasak & Singh, Ashish, 2013. "Child disability and maternal work participation: New evidence from India," Economics Discussion Papers 2013-6, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    5. Ashish Singh, 2011. "Gender based intra-household inequality of opportunity in academic skills among Indian children," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 31(3), pages 2333-2346.
    6. Akanksha Choudhary & Ashish Singh, 2018. "Effect of intergenerational educational mobility on health of Indian women," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, September.
    7. Akanksha Choudhary & Ashish Singh, 2017. "Are Daughters Like Mothers: Evidence on Intergenerational Educational Mobility Among Young Females in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 601-621, September.
    8. Mohamed Amara & Hatem Jemmali, 2018. "Do Tunisian Young Children Have Equal Chances in Access to Basic Services? A Special Focus on Opportunities in Healthcare and Nutrition," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(2), pages 383-403, April.
    9. Tista Kundu, 2023. "Inequality of Opportunity in Elementary Level School Education: Evidence from India," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 17(2), pages 253-270, August.
    10. Mohamed Amara & Hatem Jemmali, 2017. "On the Decomposition and Dynamics of Inequality of Opportunities: A Special Focus on Early Childhood Health and Nutrition in Tunisia," Working Papers 1093, Economic Research Forum, revised 05 Nov 2017.
    11. Ashish Singh, 2015. "Gender based within-household inequality in immunization status of children: some evidence from South Asian countries," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(2), pages 911-923.
    12. Дас П., 2019. "Неравенство Возможностей В Сфере Образования В Индии: Оценка Индекса Возможностей Для Человека По Данным Опросов," Вопросы образования // Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 4, pages 116-132.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality of opportunity; Immunization; Nutrition; Inequality of Opportunity Index; Human Opportunity Index; Indian children;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I00 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General - - - General

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