Village transportation infrastructure and women’s non-agricultural employment in India : the conditioning role of community gender context

Using data from the India Human Development Survey (2005, 2012) the study explores the impact of village transportation conditions on women’s participation in non-agricultural work. Findings show that access by roads and frequent bus services positively influence men’s and women’s participation in non-agricultural work. Similar effects are found for women and men. The positive impact of transportation infrastructure on women’s non-farm employment is stronger in communities with more egalitarian gender norms. Other research shows that the earned income from non-farm work boosts women’s control over resources, decision making power, and child welfare.US National Institutes of HealthUK Department of International DevelopmentFord FoundationWorld Ban

Indian paradox : rising education, declining women’s employment

The study uses the first comprehensive Indian income data to evaluate whether the “other family income” effect explains the negative relationship between women’s education and labor force participation. In India, women’s education has a U-shaped relationship with labor force participation. This has been attributed to an income effect whereby women with more education marry into richer families that enable them to withdraw from the labor force. Results suggest that another factor at play is occupational sex segregation, which excludes moderately educated Indian women from clerical and sales jobs

Living arrangements and health of older adults in India

OBJECTIVES: We investigate the association between the multigenerational household context and health of older adults in India, taking into account potential selection effects. METHODS: Using data from the India Human Development Survey (2004-05), a nationally representative multitopic data set, we employed a two-step analytical strategy-logistic regression followed by propensity score stratification method-to model the effect of contrasting living arrangement types on short-term illness. RESULTS: Overall, older adults living in multigenerational households have the lowest levels of short-term illness. Among them, those who live with their spouse, adult children, and young grandchildren experience the highest health gains. Health advantage diminishes when older adults live only with a spouse and adult children, and further diminishes when they live only with their spouse. Solitary living is associated with the highest likelihood of short-term morbidity. Good health is also shown to be associated with household wealth, gender, household size, and urban residence. DISCUSSION: Our study demonstrates that multigenerational households-the traditional and the most dominant form of living arrangement in India-have protective health benefits for older adults, while taking into account potential selection mechanisms. On Contrary to some epidemiological studies, we do not find any elevated risk of exposure to short-term illness, when older adults are living in households with young grandchildren.by Tannistha Samanta, Feinian Chen and Reeve Vannema

Indian paradox: Rising education, declining womens' employment

Background: Theories of human capital would suggest that with more education, women acquire greater skills and their earnings increase, resulting in higher labor force participation. However, it has been long known that in India, women's education has a U-shaped relationship with labor force participation. Part of the decline at moderate levels of education may be due to an income effect whereby women with more education marry into richer families that enable them to withdraw from the labor force. Objective: The paper uses the first comprehensive Indian income data to evaluate whether the other family income effect explains the negative relationship between moderate women's education and their labor force participation. Methods: Using two waves of the India Human Development Survey, a comprehensive measure of labor force participation is regressed on educational levels for currently married women aged 25-59. Results: We find a strong other family income effect that explains some but not all of the U-shape education relationship. Further analyses suggest the importance of a lack of suitable employment opportunities for moderately educated women. Conclusions: Other factors need to be identified to explain the paradoxical U-shape relationship. We suggest the importance of occupational sex segregation, which excludes moderately educated Indian women from clerical and sales jobs. Contribution: This paper provides a more definitive test of the other family income effect and identifies new directions for future research that might explain the paradoxical U-curve relationship

Getting a Child through Secondary School and to College in India: The Role of Household Social Capital

n the classic formulations of social capital theory, families employ their social capital resources to enhance other capitals, in particular their human capital investments. Social capital would seem to be espe�cially important in the case of India, where, in recent years, higher education has been under considerable stress with rising educational demand, inadequate supply, and little parental experience to guide children’s transition through the education system. We use the 2005 and 2012 waves of the nationally representative India Human Development Survey (IHDS) to show how relatively high-status connections advantage some families’ chances of their children reaching educational milestones such as secondary school completion and college entry. The 2005 IHDS survey measure of a household’s formal sector contacts in education, govern�ment, and health predicts their children’s educational achievements by the second wave, seven years later, controlling for households’ and children’s initial background