How Far Socio-Economic Determinants Affect the Demographic and Health Inequalities in Urban India: Evidences from NFHS-3

Srinivas Goli, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Prashant K. Singh, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Arokiasamy Perianayagam, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

In general, urbanization is defined as a process of structural changes in social, economic and demographic aspects of life in a given society. However, have the urbanites living in India been influenced by the same changes? Do they have the same access to urban amenities irrespective of their caste, religion and economic status? This paper used an analytical framework which explains the socio-economic stratification in accordance with cultural context of India and its influence on demographic and health outcomes. This paper presents evidence that, in spite of being urbanized, socio-economic inequalities still persist in India. Moreover, they significantly influence demographic outcomes and access to public health services. Though on average urban people have better health than rural counterparts, the odds of a logistic regression after controlling for other background variables shows variation in demographic and health indicators of different socio-economic groups within urban India.