Religion and Childhood Death in India
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Economics
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Sonia Bhalotra (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Basant, Rakesh; Shariff, Abusaleh
(2010)
Handbook of Muslims in India: Empirical and Policy Perspectives
Basant, Rakesh; Shariff, Abusaleh
(2010)
Handbook of Muslims in India: Empirical and Policy Perspectives
Bhalotra S
(2010)
The puzzle of Muslim advantage in child survival in India.
in Journal of health economics
Bhalotra S
(2008)
Birth-spacing, fertility and neonatal mortality in India: Dynamics, frailty, and fecundity
in Journal of Econometrics
Bhalotra S
(2014)
Religion, Politician Identity and Development Outcomes.
in Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization
Bhalotra, SR
(2018)
Religion and Abortion: The Role of Politician Identity
| Description | Our research identifies a paradox in terms of a group of lower socioeconomic status (Indian Muslims) exhibiting better infant survival rates over long periods of time than the majority group (Hindus). It suggests the relevance of behavioural mechansims and of social-networks. After this original award, recently I have written two papers that identify impacts of religion of state legislators on (a) public health goods provision and targeting of this to their own community and (b) the role of politician religion in abortion-related policies. One of these papers is published in the Journal of Economic and Behaviour Organization in 2017, the other is under review and available as an IZA working paper. Update March 2021: We have a new paper on religion of politicians in India that has emerged from this initial programme of work. It is forthcoming at the Review of Economics and Statistics. It investigates the extent to which leaders of the majority vs the minority religion can harness coordination failure by conducting a lab in field experiment in India. |
| Exploitation Route | Our research offers a point of departure for more detailed investigation of the mechanisms underlying child health and survival. it has led to my writing two new papers related to the original topic. it is likely to stimulate further work on ethnic minorities and their representation in policymaking. Our new work on leader identity and coordination is potentially relevant to contemporary debates on whether diversity in leadership is good for society rather than good only for the minority group that achieves inclusion. |
| Sectors | Education,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| URL | https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeborg/v104y2014icp4-17.html |
| Description | Our findings were reported in a report on the status of Muslims in India commissioned by the President of India. They have been cited in papers in economics, health and epidemiology in relation to understanding the determinants of health, and the role of religion. we published a paper in 2017 which shows that politicians of the ethnic minority in India (Muslims) are actually better at providing public goods for health and education and also that there is no evidence that they preferentially target their own community. we also published a working paper in 2018 which shows that Muslim politicians in India are more effective at controlling sex selective abortion and we argue that this is because Muslims (like Catholics) have a religious abhorrence of abortion and more so than Hindus who are the majority group that are committing girl abortion. these findings are potentially influential in India where religious tensions are rife, political reservations are voted down, and also in other countries where ethnic minorities are underrepresented in politics. there is as yet no direct impact on policymaking. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2008 |
| Sector | Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic,Policy & public services |
| Description | International Growth Centre |
| Amount | £200,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | International Growth Centre (IGC) |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2016 |
| End | 12/2017 |