Empirical evidences in healthcare efficiency in Jammu and Kashmir using two stage DEA

This paper examines healthcare inequalities in reproductive and child health outcomes across districts of Jammu and Kashmir. It focuses on regional disparities in efficiency and their underlying determinants. Using cross sectional district level data, the study applies the bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis approach to estimate efficiency scores in the utilization of healthcare resources for reproductive and child health services. Further, a Tobit regression model is employed to identify the socioeconomic and infrastructural factors influencing variations in efficiency across districts and regions. The findings reveal a low average efficiency score of 0.30, indicating that nearly 70% of potential healthcare outcomes remain unrealized due to inefficiencies in resource utilization. A regional comparison shows that the Kashmir region performs relatively better with an average efficiency score of 0.34, compared to 0.25 in the Jammu region, highlighting significant intra-regional disparities. The Tobit regression results indicate that access to clean and safe cooking fuel, female literacy, and out-of-pocket health expenditure are key determinants explaining the differences in reproductive and child health efficiency across districts.