Implications of adopting water policy and caste on Multidimensional poverty: Evidence from household-level data in India

Abstract

This paper attempts to unravel the influence of caste on water poverty while examining the relationship between the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) and the modified water poverty index (MWPI). Additionally, considering the inevitable role of policies in combatting water woes, this paper analyses the impact of drinking water policies. The empirical results show that MWPI significantly impacts MPI, and caste significantly determines both MWPI and MPI. This study also found that drinking water policies significantly influence MWPI and indirectly impact MPI through MWPI.