Financing the Fields: Who Lives in Deprived Housing: Descriptive Evidence from India’s Housing Deprivation Index

Chandhini Anbalagan and Zareena Begum Irfan ()
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Chandhini Anbalagan: Research Scholar, Madras School of Economics, Chennai, India.
Zareena Begum Irfan: Professor, Madras School of Economics, Chennai, India.

Working Papers from Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India

Keywords: Housing deprivation; Multiple Correspondence Analysis; Housing Adequacy; Urbanisation. Classification-JEL: : R21,R31, I32, C38Abstract: Despite a significant decline in extreme poverty rates, the rising inequalities and rapid urbanization in mega cities of India have exacerbated the problems of inadequate housing, overcrowding, and the proliferation of informal settlements. Given the multidimensional nature of housing deprivation, the study employed 18 key indicators of housing deprivation from the 76th National Sample Survey on Drinking Water, Housing, and Sanitation to develop the “Housing Deprivation Index” at the household level for the year 2018. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was employed to endogenously weight the 18 housing quality indicators, with the first dimension explaining 73% as a latent construct of the housing deprivation level. State level estimates of housing deprivation reveal stark interstate disparities. Housing deprivation in India is shaped by social, spatial and economic inequality with disadvantaged caste, rural households and poorer households experiencing significantly high deprivation. These findings underscore the need for housing policy to occupy a central position in India amid rapid urbanization and persistent spatial and socio-economic inequalities in adequate housingLength: 34 pages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07
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