Economic Development in the Districts of India

A number of studies have examined interstate variations in economic development; however, a limited number of studies have focussed on the districts of India. This chapter examines the spatial pattern of economic development in 640 districts in India in three dimensions of economic development-living standard, occupation and household assets. An Economic Development Index (EDI) and a Relative Development Index (RDI) are used to rank the districts according to the level of economic development. The spatial pattern of economic development index and its association with total fertility rate (TFR) and under-five mortality rate (U5MR) is assessed using Moran’s I statistics.