Gender, intra-household discrimination and cash transfer schemes : the case of Indian Punjab

For many years, the Punjab province of India has had the dubious distinction of having the worst sex ratio among all other states of India. In recent years, both the child sex ratio and the overall sex ratio has shown a marked improvement in the state. This paper analyses whether the improvement in sex ratios has narrowed down gender discrimination against the girl child in Punjab. This paper examines the intra-household gender differences in indicators of nutrition and well-being by employing logistic regression analysis on the latest available data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) for the year 2015–2016. It also evaluates the cash transfer schemes currently being implemented in Punjab for the welfare of the girl child and analyses their relative efficacy. The key results from the study reveal that gender continues to have a significant impact on indicators of child well-being and nutrition such as the average duration of breastfeeding and intra-household food allocation. The paper also finds that cash transfer schemes do not have a statistically significant impact on indicators of child malnutrition in the state.