Female Literacy and Economic Development in India

Role of education and particularly female education in the development process is well documented. Economists of the classical period have also highlighted this association, which is similarly reconfirmed in present times. Besides the social and economic benefits of education, female literacy is considered a bet in improving the health and basic child care. Higher literacy rates show lower poverty ratios amongst different parts of the world. India has also shown a tremendous increase in its literacy rates since independence, but it too holds the largest concentration of poor people in the world. Increasing literacy is considered a harbinger for economic development. This has been postulated to be tested through the case of India. District level analysis of female literacy and its spatial correspondence with asset less population of India in 2011 is ascertained. The present paper attempts to determine the spatial patterns of female literacy and economic development in India. Higher female literacy rate districts are noted for lower proportions of poor populations. Keyword: Asset-less population, economic development, female literacy, India.