Determinants of large city slum incidence in India: A cross-sectional study

Roughly 1.37 crore households, or 17.4% of urban Indian households lived in slums in 2011. India‟s current policies and programmes are not enough to improve slum conditions or stop proliferation of slums. This phenomenon poses serious questions to Indian economic researchers and policy makers. By considering India‟s 52 large urban agglomerations, this paper investigates the relevant city specific economic determinants of city slum incidence (measured by the ratio of city slum population to total city population). In addition, the paper also tries to identify the cities with the best record in trying to improve the living condition of slum dwellers in India. Besides using city level data, the study uses three rounds of National Sample Survey (NSS) unit level data on consumption expenditure, employment and unemployment, and particulars of slums. Using OLS regression analysis, the empirical results show that the level of urban agglomeration, per capita income, per capita consumption expenditure, level of poverty, employment and unemployment situation negatively impact on city slum incidence. The results of Borda ranking show that Aurangabad, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Bangalore, and Hubli-Dharwad rank high among other cities in regard to availability of quality of public services and better general conditions in the slum. Finally, the paper suggests that the problem of slum should be analysed in a macro or overall perspective besides micro level as the stage of development of a country has a direct bearing on proliferation of slums