This study is the first to examine declines and disparities in life expectancy by age, sex, and social group, in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hi, I'm Sangita Vyas.
I'm a development economist and demographer, and an Assistant Professor in Economics at CUNY Hunter College.
About
My research focuses on the interrelationships among health, the environment, and social inequality in India. I'm particularly interested in the causes and consequences of poor air quality and poor sanitation. I'm trained in economic demography, applied microeconomics, and econometrics.
TEDx Talk
In 2015, I spoke at TEDx WalledCity in New Delhi on why so many rural Indians defecate in the open. The video has over 2.5 million views.
Latest Research
Near-universal marriage, early childbearing, and low fertility: India's alternative fertility transition
This study documents India's transition to low fertility despite high marriage rates, and consistently low age at first birth. This paper has been published in Demographic Research.
Heritable fertility is not sufficient for positive long-term population growth
In this research note, we show that heritable fertility is not sufficient for positive long-term population growth, for empirical and theoretical reasons. This paper has been published in Demography.
Social disadvantage, economic inequality, and life expectancy in nine Indian states
This study estimates and decomposes life expectancy differentials along lines of caste, religion, and indigenous identity in India, home to some of the largest populations of marginalized social groups in the world. This paper has been published in PNAS.
Latest Media
Let's talk about toilets | Council on Foreign Relations Podcast
Why do so many rural north Indians defecate in the open?
Cooking with gas, not wood | The Hindu
Using cleaner fuels such as LPG is essential to reduce rural air pollution and improve health. What can policymakers do to achieve exclusive use of clean fuels in rural India?
Coercion, construction, and ‘ODF paper pe’: Swachh Bharat according to local officials | India Forum
The Swachh Bharat Mission has turned out to be a top-down programme in which villagers are often coerced into building latrines, with relatively little focus on latrine use.
Swachh Bharat Mission gains have come at a cost | Hindustan Times
Coercive and threatening tactics were used in all of the states to compel people to build and use latrines.