Differences in Pre- and Post-Natal Expenditure across Female- and Male- Headed Households in India: A Non-Parametric Analysis

Abstract

This article investigates whether pre- and post-natal expenses are different across male- and female-headed households in India, using data from the 71st round of National Sample Survey. Results from fractional logit models provide evidence that female-headed households, compared to male-headed households, had 30 per cent increased likelihood of spending on postnatal care as a proportion of overall consumption expenditure, while no significant results were observed for prenatal expenditure. Results from Heckman two-part model also show that the decision on how much to spend on pre- or post-natal expenses is related to the gender of the household head. Overall, our results suggest that the gender of the household head may provide additional context in understanding expenditure patterns related to pre- and post-natal expenses in India.