Every year, Ministries of Health the world over develop annual budgets for the health sector. Every year, donors, academicians, advocacy groups, medical trade unions and professional organizations, and health service managers and providers complain that the budgets have the wrong priorities....

This paper summarizes empirical findings from recent World Bank financed analysis on the use of health services by the poor in India (Mahal et al 2000) and some additional analysis conducted with the same data. Three factors motivate the choice of approach taken here and in the background paper....