Fertility, MCH-Care and Poverty in India

S. C. Gulati, Institute of Economic Growth (IEG)

ABSTRACT: The paper highlights interlinkages amongst district level fertility, mother and child health care utilization (MCH-care) and poverty and relevant socioeconomic, demographic and cultural factors through factorial investigations Thereby, the study formulates a simultaneous structural model with fertility, mother and child health care utilization and extent of poverty as endogenous variables and nine of the crucial socioeconomic variables and contraception usage as exogenous variables to the system. The parametric estimates by 3SLS estimation procedure of the system model are based on data from 593 districts of India on relevant parameters from alternate sources like district level household surveys – reproductive and child health (DLHS-RCH), Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), Census, etc. The elicited parametric estimates are utilized to elicit the partial and total effects of exogenous or predetermined socioeconomic and cultural variables on the endogenous variables in the system. The study highlights strong interlinkages between fertility, mother and child health care utilization and poverty levels at the district level. The elicited parametric estimates also facilitate prioritization of some policy variables towards rapid population stabilization process in India.