Articles by K S James

Despite the progress achieved in demographic and health-related indicators, achieving targets in the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 remains a demanding task. This study acts as a perfect benchmark for monitoring several demographics and health-related indicators in the era of the SDGs. There is a need to advance the right sources of data and cutting-edge tools for measuring and monitoring progress. The efforts to reduce regional disparities in demographic and health-related indicators are hindered by the lack of adequate funding to the programmes and the absence of reliable micro-level evidence-based policy.

The form and nature of marriage and family life have changed over the past few decades in Western societies and in East Asia, but they have taken different pathways. Reproduction is becoming delinked from marriage in the West, while in East Asia remaining single has become more of a norm. Looking at how the various factors operating in these societies impinge on marriages in India, this paper finds that while development has contributed to a significant rise in age at marriage, it has not altered the ultimate proportion of the population getting married by 0-34. These figures are in stark contrast to what is observed in the West and Japan. Deeply rooted in religion and caste, and with marital breakdown facing punishing social and economic costs, the institution of marriage is strong in India and unlikely to show signs of a breakdown in the near future.

A consistent increase has been observed in the rate of Caesarean section deliveries in most of the developed countries and in many developing countries, including India, over the last few decades. An analysis of the National Family Health Survey data shows that the rate of this form of delivery in states like Kerala, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu is alarmingly high. States with marked demographic transition as well as high institutionalised births have an infl ated rate of c-section deliveries.

Demographic factors have reappeared in the economic development debate with the emergence of the concept of the "demographic dividend". With many developing countries experiencing a rapid decline in fertility, there has been overwhelming optimism that a demographic bonus will take these countries to greater economic heights. At the same time, there are pessimists doubting the ability of these countries to take advantage of the demographic dividend. This paper looks at the concept critically in the context of India. It tries to empirically estimate the contribution of the age structure change to economic growth in the country through a two-stage least square method. The empirical analysis clearly exhibits a powerful positive impact of the boom in the working age group population on economic growth. This is despite the fact that the educational achievements and health conditions of the people are far from desirable and employment creation is well below the required level.

For understanding emerging patterns in fertility behaviour, according to the religious beliefs of a population, it is grossly unscientific to look only at current levels at a time when fertility is falling in all regions and among all communities, at varying rates and in response to different social factors.