Costs of Basic Services in Kerala, 2007 Education, Health, Childbirth and Finance (Loans)

This paper focuses on the pattern and costs of services for households in Kerala, India, looking specifically at household spending on education, healthcare, household indebtedness and loans. The study focused on the role of emigration in household behavior in Kerala in recent years. Study findings include:

• Out of the estimated eight million children who went to school in 2007, 13 percent got free education;
• Average expense per student was Rs. 2,772 per annum;
• Average cost of treatment was not very high;
• Average monthly expenditure per person with chronic disease varied from Rs. 200 to Rs. 764;
• Annual cost of treating chronic diseases was estimated to be about Rs. 14,640 crore;
• Average total cost of pregnancy and childbirth was Rs. 7,905;
• Around 2.05 million households received 2.48 million private loans during a 12-month period;
• Loans were taken for essential household needs;
• Banks were the main source of loans and interest was paid at reasonable rates.

Finally, the study found that after thirty years of large-scale exposure to emigration, return emigration and remittances, the spill over effects on non-emigrant households is substantial.