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Measuring Regional Backwardness

Author

Listed:
  • Vani K. Borooah

    (Vani K. Borooah is Professor, School of Economics and Politics, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland BT 37 OQB; e-mail: vk.borooah@ulster.ac.uk)

  • Amaresh Dubey

    (Amaresh Dubey is Senior Fellow, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi; e-mail: adubey@ncaer.org)

Abstract

This paper examines regional disparity in India from the perspective of the smallest geographical unit for which a consisent set of data is available: the district. By doing so, we are able to focus on pockets of deprivation rather than viewing deprivation as a phenomenon affecting a state or a region in its entirety: ‘forward’ states have deprived districts while ‘backward’ states have districts that are not deprived. Consistent with the United Nations’ Human Development Index, the paper examines deprivation from a broader perspective than that of simply income. More specifically, it looks at six indicators of district-level deprivation: the poverty rate; the food scarcity rate; the (gender-sensitive) literacy rate; the infant mortality rate; the immunisation rate; and the sex ratio for 0–6 year olds. The central conclusion that emerges from this study is that different districts were ‘most backward’ on different metrics. Districts in Orissa were the poorest; districts in Arunchal Pradesh had the highest rates of food scarcity; districts in Bihar and Jharkhand had the lowest rates of literacy; tribal districts in the North-East, along with districts in Bihar and Jharkhand, had the lowest rates of immunisation; districts in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh had the highest rates of infant mortality; and districts in Punjab and Haryana had the lowest (0–6 years) sex ratios.

Suggested Citation

  • Vani K. Borooah & Amaresh Dubey, 2007. "Measuring Regional Backwardness," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 1(4), pages 403-440, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:mareco:v:1:y:2007:i:4:p:403-440
    DOI: 10.1177/097380100700100404
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shorrocks, A F, 1980. "The Class of Additively Decomposable Inequality Measures," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(3), pages 613-625, April.
    2. Cowell, Frank A & Jenkins, Stephen P, 1995. "How Much Inequality Can We Explain? A Methodology and an Application to the United States," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(429), pages 421-430, March.
    3. Cai, Fang & Wang, Dewen & Du, Yang, 2002. "Regional disparity and economic growth in China: The impact of labor market distortions," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 197-212.
    4. Shorrocks, A F, 1982. "Inequality Decomposition by Factor Components," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(1), pages 193-211, January.
    5. Atkinson, Anthony B., 1970. "On the measurement of inequality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 244-263, September.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Dey, Saurav Kumar, 2015. "Regional Inequality of West Bengal: A District Level Study," Bangladesh Development Studies, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), vol. 38(01), pages 101-117, March.
    2. Khed, Vijayalaxmi D. & Krishna, Vijesh V., 2023. "Agency and time poverty: Linking decision-making powers and leisure time of male and female farmers of Central India," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    3. Aswini Kumar Mishra & Atasi Kar, 2017. "Are Targeted Unconditional Cash Transfers Effective? Evidence from a Poor Region in India," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(2), pages 819-843, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Children; Districts; Equality; Gender; Poverty; JEL Classification: I31; R12;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

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