Papers by Sandhya Mahapatro
Health protection schemes such as health insurance and financial assistance provide immense help ... more Health protection schemes such as health insurance and financial assistance provide immense help and support to access health care services, especially to the poor and marginalized section of society. India is witness to low health-related expenditure, and the society's socioeconomic and demographic structure further drops health care access to the new bottom. Consequently, inequality in health care access is highly observed across many socioeconomic attributes. The condition of Bihar, the poorest state of India, is more alarming. The analysis suggests that financial support in terms of universal health insurance coverage considerably reduces out-of-pocket expenditure and thus health inequality. Further, the low health insurance coverage is not solely due to a lack of institutional commitment and implementation process; the cognitive behavior and attitude of people are equally responsible for low health care access. An intensive awareness program to show the benefit of the health insurance scheme and sensitization of people against the social stigma is important to provide better health care access and reduce health inequality.
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Feb 26, 2023
Health equity is of particular concern in the Indian context in the light of widening economic in... more Health equity is of particular concern in the Indian context in the light of widening economic inequality and healthcare reforms which have wider ramifications on healthcare access. Despite various programs and interventions, a wide gap in health condition is observed in society among different castes, groups and income-classes. In this article, the inequality in healthcare access is studied at the cross-section of gender (man and women) and social groups—Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe (SC-ST), Other backward classes (OBC) and Others—and an attempt has been made to explore how much the women from SC-ST community are deprived of healthcare access in comparison to other gender-group intersections. To proceed with analysis, data on ‘National Sample Survey (NSS), 75th Round (2017–2018) on Health Consumptions’ are taken. Analyses are carried on in SPSS Ver.18 and Stata-16. Regression Analysis shows that women from SC-ST are 1.37 times more likely to non-access to healthcare services than men from the general category. Further, to measure the intensity of inequality in healthcare access, Wagstaff’s Concentration Index (CI) is calculated at –0.195 that shows income-related inequality highly persists among the poor. At last, the decomposition analysis of CI reveals that gender, income and social groups are some of the major contributory factors to CI, that is, health inequality. The results indicate despite the mandate of universal healthcare access, India is lagging in achieving equity in healthcare as the poor and marginalized are deprived of it.
The objective of this paper is to understand the gender differences in migration patterns at the ... more The objective of this paper is to understand the gender differences in migration patterns at the intra-household level and the socioeconomic factors that cause such differences. Furthermore, the paper aims to explore the gender-specific dynamics of migration. The theoretical framework is drawn from the New Economics of Labour Migration model modified to address the gender dimension. In other words, the methodology highlights the linkage between NELM model and empirical evidence in order to understand the influence of gender in the migration decision making process in the household. Data from the National Sample Survey 2007-08 is used, along with the logistic regression technique in order to understand gender differences in migration in a household context. The empirical findings of the study reveal that in poor economic settings the risk of migration of women is higher than that of men within the household, indicating vulnerability of females both as bread winners and care takers. For meeting familial needs and to cope with household income risk most of the females choose migration as a livelihood strategy and therefore they migrate at a higher rate than males. This paper highlights the importance of gender in the household migration decision-making model.
Routledge eBooks, Jul 25, 2023
Journal of social and economic development, Feb 26, 2022
Routledge eBooks, Jul 25, 2023
The caesarean section (C-section) has become widely accepted as a safe intervention to minimize m... more The caesarean section (C-section) has become widely accepted as a safe intervention to minimize maternal delivery risk and reduce maternal and newborn mortality, and the share of C-section delivery in total delivery is increasing over time. Many studies assess the association of C-section with out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE). The present study attempts to measure the influence of change in place of residence on OOPE for normal/caesarean section delivery by place of hospitalization and type of healthcare facilities using National Sample Survey Organization 75th round data. The number of caesarean births is lower in public hospitals and the cost of delivery is high in private facilities. Distance of hospitalization causes catastrophic OOPE on maternal delivery, and the probability of caesarean delivery has also increased.
Routledge eBooks, Jul 25, 2023
The Pakistan Development Review, Mar 1, 2013
This paper is an attempt to understand the position of Indian women in the family and its influen... more This paper is an attempt to understand the position of Indian women in the family and its influence on their migration decision. The migration-empowerment relation can be explained through relative measures like intra-household decision making indicators, and age and educational differences. The data for the purpose of the study has been drawn from the various rounds of NSSO and NFHS and it has been analysed at the state level due to data limitations for explanatory variables at the household level. The bi-variate findings show economic decision making related to large household purchases, decisions on mobility and spousal educational differences which exhibit a linear relation with the women's migration decision. The empirical findings suggest the women's greater involvement on own health care, spousal age and educational differences significantly influence their migration decision. This suggests that women's empowerment influences their migration decision.
The Indian journal of labour economics, Dec 1, 2018
While migration of men improves the social position of women in the left-behind family by transfe... more While migration of men improves the social position of women in the left-behind family by transferring power and autonomy, it may also reinforce gender inequality. The present study aims to explore this migration–empowerment relationship by addressing the research question of whether labour migration brings about changes in gender relations and empowers women, measured in terms of intra-household decision-making and work participation. Using India Human Development Survey (2011–12) data, the paper assesses the social impact of labour migration on left-behind women in one of the highest out-migrating states in East India (Bihar). The study finds that migration of men is unlikely to improve women’s position, as family relations are governed by the institution of patriarchy, and economic vulnerability rather than emancipation is the reason for their participation in paid nondomestic work. The social cost of labour migration thus seems to outweigh its benefit in Bihar, as it does not initiate the process of empowerment and poses financial challenges.
Journal of development policy and practice, Jul 1, 2017
Little is known about the factors that determine the remittance behaviour of migrants in India. W... more Little is known about the factors that determine the remittance behaviour of migrants in India. With socioeconomic transformations, the gradual change in female migration patterns for economic reasons also signifies their contribution to household well-being. Using the National Sample Survey (2007-2008) data and applying the Heckman's two-stage procedure, this paper examines, separately, key determinants that influence the remittance behaviour of male and female migrants. Empirical estimates reveal that among various factors, monthly per capita expenditure, distance from origin, and duration of stay at destination are important predictors of remittance behaviour. These determinants of remittance highlight that migrants retain strong economic links with origin families not only to provide economic support but also for social ties. The findings provide support of contractual motive of remitting and suggest remittances are more effective in promoting development. Further, gender differences in remittance behaviour are observed for household size, occupational and educational level of the migrant.
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Papers by Sandhya Mahapatro