Fertility Transition and Poverty Reduction in Districts of India

The aim of this paper is to examine the nature of relationship of fertility and poverty reduction in districts of India. Data from multiple sources; the census of India, 1991, 2001 and 2011, the District Level Household Survey 2004-05 and 2007-08 and the National sample Survey, 1993-94, 2004-05 and 2009-10 is used in the analyses. The district is the unit of analyses and data on demographic, social and economic dimensions of 640 districts are derived at three point of time. The relationship of fertility transition and money metric poverty is examined using the descriptive statistics, ordinary least square and the fixed effect and random effect model.
Results indicates that fertility transition is a significant determinant of poverty reduction in districts of India. A 10% reduction in fertility leads to 7% reduction in poverty controlling for economic growth, state domestic product percapita and fiscal deficit. The other significant predictors of poverty reduction are use of modern method of contraception, female literacy, percentage of laborer households and the region. On the other hand, the relationship of poverty and TFR is becoming weak over time. While female literacy, hospital based delivery and sterilization are negative and significantly related with TFR, the level of poverty is not significant related to fertility