Constructing Indices of Rural Living Standards in Northwestern Bangladesh

Authors

  • Snaebjorn Gunnsteinsson JiVitA Project, Karanipara, Rangpur and 2Department of Economics, Yale University, New Haven, CT
  • Alain B Labrique Global Disease Epidemiology and Control, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore
  • Keith P West Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore
  • Parul Christian Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore
  • Sucheta Mehra Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore
  • Abu Ahmed Shamim JiVitA Project, Karanipara, Rangpur
  • Mahbubur Rashid JiVitA Project, Karanipara, Rangpur
  • Joanne Katz Global Disease Epidemiology and Control, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore
  • Rolf DW Klemm Center for Human Nutrition, Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/jhpn.v28i5.6160

Keywords:

Health, Living standards, Socioeconomic status, Wealth index, Bangladesh

Abstract

This study aimed to construct indices of living standards in rural Bangladesh that could be useful to study health outcomes or identify target populations for poverty-alleviation programmes. The indices were constructed using principal component analysis of data on household assets and house construction materials. Their robustness and use was tested and found to be internally consistent and correlated with maternal and infant health, nutritional and demographic indicators, and infant mortality. Indices derived from 9 or 10 household asset variables performed well; little was gained by adding more variables but problems emerged if fewer variables were used. A ranking of the most informative assets from this rural, South Asian context is provided. Living standards consistently and significantly improved over the six-year study period. It is concluded that simple household socioeconomic data, collected under field conditions, can be used for constructing reliable and useful indices of living standards in rural South Asian communities that can assist in the assessment of health, quality of life, and capabilities of households and their members.

Key words: Health; Living standards; Socioeconomic status; Wealth index; Bangladesh

DOI: 10.3329/jhpn.v28i5.6160

J HEALTH POPUL NUTR 2010 Oct;28(5):509-519

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How to Cite

Gunnsteinsson, S., Labrique, A. B., West, K. P., Christian, P., Mehra, S., Shamim, A. A., Rashid, M., Katz, J., & Klemm, R. D. (2010). Constructing Indices of Rural Living Standards in Northwestern Bangladesh. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 28(5), 509–519. https://doi.org/10.3329/jhpn.v28i5.6160

Issue

Vol. 28 No. 5 (2010)

Section

Original Papers