Assets, Intra-Household Power and Vulnerability to Crisis Amongst the Urban Poor in India

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

This proposal will field a multi-method study of gender disparities in response to household economic crises (e.g., illness, floods, unemployment) among poor households in Lucknow, India. Survey data will be collected in four waves over a two and a half year panel design in order to obtain before and after measures of responses to crises. Household assets and decision making power will be evaluated at each wave. Qualitative data will be collected at the beginning and end of the field work. Household and individual-level data will be supplemented by community level focus groups exploring the key risk factors and community resources available to respond to those risks. Individual assets within the household are expected to be a determinant of who suffers most from crises, but gender differences are also expected to play an independent role.