Missing Women and India’s Religious Demography

The authors use recent data from the 2006 National Family Health Survey of India to explore the relationship between religion and demographic behavior. They find that fertility and mortality vary not only between religious groups, but also across caste groups. These groups also differ with respect to socio-economic status. The central finding of this paper is that despite their socio-economic disadvantages, Muslims have higher fertility than their Hindu counterparts and also exhibit lower levels of infant mortality (particularly female infant mortality). This effect is robust to the inclusion of controls for non-religious factors such as socio-economic status and area of residence. This result has important policy implications because it suggests that India's problem of "missing women" may be concentrated in particular groups. The authors conclude that religion and caste play a key role in determining the demographic characteristics of India.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Borooah, Vani, Do, Quy-Toan, Iyer, Sriya, Joshi, Shareen
Language:	English
Published:	2009-10-01
Subjects:	ABORTION, AGE AT MARRIAGE, AVERAGE AGE, BIRTH CONTROL, CHILD MORTALITY, CHILD-BEARING, CHILDBEARING, CHILDBEARING AGES, CONTRACEPTION, CONTRACEPTIVE USE, COURT, DEATHS, DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE, DEMOGRAPHY, DIFFERENTIALS IN FERTILITY, DIVORCE, DRINKING WATER, ECONOMIC STATUS, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EQUAL TREATMENT, FAMILIES, FAMILY HEALTH, FAMILY PLANNING, FAMILY WELFARE, FATHER, FATHERS, FEMALE, FEMALE EDUCATION, FEMALE LABOR FORCE, FEMALE MORTALITY, FEMALES, FERTILITY, FERTILITY BEHAVIOR, FERTILITY DECLINE, FERTILITY PATTERNS, FERTILITY RATE, FERTILITY RATES, FERTILITY TRANSITION, FEWER CHILDREN, FIRST MARRIAGE, GENDER, GENDER BIAS, GENDER DIFFERENCES, GENDER NORMS, HOME, HOUSEHOLD ASSETS, HOUSES, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, HUSBAND, HUSBANDS, IMMIGRANT, IMMIGRANTS, IMMUNIZATION, IMPORTANT POLICY, INEQUALITY, INFANT MORTALITY, INFANT MORTALITY RATES, INHERITANCE, INSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS, ISLAMIC LAW, KINSHIP, KINSHIP STRUCTURE, LABOR MARKETS, LAND OWNERSHIP, LEVELS OF EDUCATION, LEVELS OF INFANT, LITERACY, LOWER FERTILITY, MALE MORTALITY, MALE SEX, MARRIAGES, MASS MEDIA, MEASLES, MEAT, MINISTRY OF HEALTH, MINORITY, MISCARRIAGES, MORTALITY, MORTALITY DIFFERENCES, MORTALITY RISK, MORTALITY RISKS, MOTHER, MOTHERS, MUSLIM GIRLS, MUSLIM WOMEN, NATIONAL FAMILY HEALTH SURVEY, NATIONAL LEVEL, NUMBER OF CHILDREN, NUMBER OF CHILDREN PER WOMAN, NUMBER OF GIRLS, NUMBER OF WOMEN, NUTRITION, NUTRITIONAL INTAKES, OLD AGES, OLD-AGE, PARENTS, POLICY IMPLICATIONS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, POLIO, POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT, POPULATION GROWTH, POPULATION GROWTH RATE, POPULATION GROWTH RATES, POPULATION STUDIES, POPULATION STUDY, PREFERENCE FOR SONS, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PROGRESS, PROPERTY RIGHTS, RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES, RELIGIOUS GROUP, RELIGIOUS GROUPS, RESIDENCE, RESPECT, RISK OF DEATH, RURAL AREAS, RURAL POPULATION, SCHOOL ENROLMENT, SECONDARY SCHOOL, SELECTIVE ABORTION, SEX, SEX RATIO, SEX RATIOS, SEX-SELECTIVE ABORTIONS, SHARIA, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, SON PREFERENCE, STATUS OF WOMEN, STD, SURVIVAL ADVANTAGE, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TELEVISION, UNFPA, URBAN AREAS, USE OF CONTRACEPTION, VIOLENCE, WIFE, WILL, WIVES, WOMAN,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20091027094625 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4288
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