Working Paper: NBER ID: w12743
Authors: Emily Oster
Abstract: Policymakers often argue that increasing access to health care is one crucial avenue for decreasing gender inequality in the developing world. Although this is generally true in the cross section, time series evidence does not always point to the same conclusion. This paper analyzes the relationship between access to child health investments and gender inequality in those health investments in India. A simple theory of gender-biased parental investment suggests that gender inequality may actually be non-monotonically related to access to health investments. At low levels of availability, investment in girls and boys is low but equal; as availability increases, boys get investments first, creating inequality. As availability increases further, girls also receive investments and equality is restored. I test this theory using data on the relationship between gender balance in vaccinations and the availability of "Health Camps" in India. I find support for a non-monotonic relationship. This result may shed light on the contrast between the cross-sectional and time-series evidence on gender and development, and may provide guidance for health policy in developing countries.
Keywords: gender inequality; child health; health investments; India
JEL Codes: I18; J13; J16; O12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Low levels of access to health investments (I14) | Low gender inequality in child vaccinations (I14) |
| Further increases in access to health investments (I14) | Restoration of equality in vaccinations between boys and girls (I24) |
| Access to health investments (I14) | Gender inequality in child vaccinations (I24) |
| Increase in access to health investments (I14) | Increased gender inequality in child vaccinations (F63) |