Revisiting the Relationship between Women's Education and Child Immunization: A Multilevel Analysis of Rural Districts of India

Sangeeta Parashar, University of Maryland

Using multilevel models, this study extends previous research on the relationship between maternal education and child health by directly examining both the individual and contextual effect of women's education on complete and timely immunization of children in rural districts of India. I hypothesize that: 1) A significant and positive relationship exists between female literacy rates in a district and children's immunization status in that district. 2) The contextual effect of female literacy on children's immunization status is likely to persist and be significant even after controlling for individual-level characteristics such as maternal education and macro-level characteristics such as district-level socioeconomic development. The study concludes by discussing limitations of the study and policy implications.