Excess Female Infant Mortality And The Gender Gap In Infant Care In Bihar, India

Sanjukta Chaudhuri

Feminist Economics, 2015, vol. 21, issue 2, 131-161

Abstract: This paper analyzes excess female infant mortality and the gender gap in infant care in the East-Central state of Bihar, India. Using pooled data from three waves of the National Family Health Surveys (1992-3; 1998-9; 2005-6) in a panel analysis, it compares female infant mortality rates in Bihar to those in thirteen major Indian states. These comparisons suggest that females in Bihar experience a statistically significant excess infant mortality when compared to female infants in less gender-biased states in eastern, western, and southern regions, but not when compared to more gender-biased states in northern and central regions. An estimated 23 percent of female infant deaths in Bihar are excess. Examination of infant care demonstrates that a gender gap in Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination is the single most important driver of excess female infant mortality, followed by gaps in vaccination for polio; diphtheria, pertussis, tuberculosis (DPT); and measles.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2014.999007

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