Fact checking nutrition, health and development indicators in the Parliamentary Constituencies of India

Map of India's parliamentary constituencies

There are 543 Parliamentary Constituencies (PCs) in India, and these political units are key to improving human capital and development. Expanding on their own recent research, Harvard Pop Center faculty member S (Subu) V Subramanian, Research Associate Rockli Kim and their colleagues have made data tables and maps available via a website to help people visualize over one hundred critical indicators of nutrition, health and development to identify PCs that…

New methods to more accurately pinpoint areas experiencing greatest burden of child malnutrition in India

Head shot of Rockli Kim and S V Subramanian

Rockli Kim, ScD, and S V Subramanian, PhD, are among the authors of a study published in Social Science & Medicine that furthers recent insights on the value of focusing on parliamentary constituencies to hone in on areas experiencing the greatest burden of child malnutrition indicators. Learn more in this Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health news item.

Viewing child malnutrition in India by parliamentary constituency hones in on burden

Head shot of Subu and Rockli

A study by Harvard Pop Center research associate Rockli Kim, ScD, and faculty member S (Subu) V Subramanian, PhD, and colleagues, that applies two newly developed geographic information systems methodologies to analyze the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India has been published in Economic & Political Weekly. The results highlight several constituencies experiencing an increased malnutrition burden and in need of priority attention. Learn more about the findings in the news: Downtoearth.com…

India’s gender gap in mobile phone usage is fourth highest in world

According to a new Harvard Kennedy School study—with Harvard Pop Center faculty member Rohini Pande and recent Harvard Bell Fellow Natalia Rigol among its authors—men in India are 33 percentage points more likely than women to own a cell phone, on average. Learn how this imbalance can influence other forms of inequalities in this news piece on counterview.com.

New HCPDS Working Paper: Estimates of child malnutrition indicators for 543 Parliamentary Constituencies in India

Rockli Kim, SD, Yun Xu, MA, William Joe, PhD, and S (Subu) V Subramanian, PhD, have authored a novel working paper that presents robust estimates on five indicators of child malnutrition for each Parliamentary Constituency (PC) in India in 2016.

Does cardiovascular disease risk vary among different groups in India?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in India. A study in PLOS Medicine (with Harvard Pop Center fellow Jennifer Manne-Goehler, MD, ScD, and faculty member Till Bärnighausen, MD, PhD, ScD, among the authors) identified significant geographic and sociodemographic variation in CVD risk, findings which could help to shape effective targeting of CVD programs.

Women business owners in India & Sri Lanka commonly invest their microfinance loans & grants in male household member’s business enterprises

A recent working paper by Harvard Pop Center Bell Fellow Natalia Rigol, PhD, along with faculty member Rohini Pande, PhD, is the subject of this post on Ideas for India that offers some explanations as to why previous studies have shown that female-operated enterprises in India and Sri Lanka have not benefited from access to grants and loans as much as male-operated businesses.

Cell phone gender gap in India and why it matters

In this piece on IndianXpress, Harvard Pop Center faculty member Rohini Pande, PhD, explains how the cell phone gender gap in India (33% of women use cell phones compared to 77% of men) can negatively impact women economically by limiting access to: job opportunities; information regarding best prices for market goods; and mobile money.

What India can do to prevent and treat stunting

Harvard Pop Center faculty member S V Subramanian, PhD, has co-authored an editorial in the Hindustan Times that calls for India to rise to the challenge of addressing the nutritional, health care, and educational needs of the 48 million children living in India who suffer from stunting. Learn more in this news item by Harvard Chan School.

Women working in India whose wages are deposited into own bank accounts found to participate longer in labor force

Harvard Pop Center faculty member Rohini Pande, PhD, postdoctoral fellow Natalia Rigol, PhD, and colleagues explore in this working paper whether this correlation may be due to increased female bargaining power.