Determinants of Large City Slum Incidence in India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Roughly 1.37 crore households, or 17.4 percent of urban households, in India lived in slums in 2011. This phenomenon poses serious challenges to Indian economic researchers and policymakers. By considering India's 52 large urban agglomerations, this article identifies/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 article also tries to identify the cities with the best record in trying to improve the living conditions of slum dwellers in India. Besides using citylevel 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 level of education positively impact on city slum incidence, and level of urban agglomeration, income, consumption expenditure, poverty, employment, and unemployment situation negatively impact on city slum incidence. The result of Borda ranking shows that Aurangabad, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Bangalore, and Hubli-Dharwad rank high among 39 large cities in regard to availability of quality public services and better overall conditions in the slums in India. Finally, the article suggests that the problem of slums should be analyzed in a macro or overall perspective besides the micro level, as the stage of development of a country has a direct bearing on proliferation of slums.