K.S. James
Senior Visiting Scholar
Biography
K S James is the Senior Visiting Scholar at Newcomb Institute, Tulane University. He possesses extensive research and teaching experience in the field of Demography with focus on South Asia. He was formerly the Director and Senior Professor of the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India. He also served as a Professor of Population Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Professor and Head of Population Research Centre at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), Bangalore, India. Currently, he holds the position as Vice-president of the Asian Population Association (APA) and serves as a member of the Commission set up by the Government of Kerala, India to formulate Kerala Urban Policy.
Broadly, his work examines the interaction of socio-economic and policy forces on the demographic factors including fertility, marriage, gender and ageing. With deep interests in population dynamics, he investigates India’s demographic changes and its implication on the economy and society. Much of his research aims at improving empirical knowledge of the determinants and consequences of demographic change in India. James’s research is primarily organised into three interrelated areas (i) demographic change and its implications, (ii) ageing and (iii) data and measurement. His works on demographic changes and dividend are widely recognised as important contribution to understanding new forms of demographic change. The other area of his interest is on data system and measurement. Examining the quality of data available from registration and administrative system as well as from surveys forms a major focus of his research in recent years. He has several books and articles in his credit. He has published widely on demographic transition, demographic dividend and data system in India in journals such as Science, Lancet Global Health, BMC Public Health, Social Science and Medicine, JAMA Network Open, Journal of Biosocial Science, Population and Development Review, Social Indicators Research, Population Studies, Journal of Demographic Economics, Vaccine, Ageing International, Brown Journal of World Affairs, Studies in Family Planning, Economic and Political Weekly etc.
He holds a postdoctoral training from Harvard Centre for Population and Development, Harvard University, USA and Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been a visiting fellow in many prestigious institutes and universities including Harvard University, USA; London School of Economics, UK; International Institute for Applied System Analysis (IIASA), Austria, University of Southampton, UK and University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Research
Selected Publications:
Books:
K S James and T.V. Sekher (eds) (2023) India Population Report, Cambridge University Press, New Delhi.
Ajay Bailey, Martin Hyde and K S James (eds) (2022) Care for Older Adults in India: Living Arrangements and Quality of Life, Policy Press, UK.
Articles:
Babul Hossain and K S James (2024) “Economics of widowhood mortality in adult women in India”, Social Science and Medicine, Volume 340, January (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116450)
K S James, Purushottam M. Kulkarni and Md Juel Rana (2023) “Demographic Dividend in India: What do we Know?” in K S James and T V Sekher (eds), India Population Report, Cambridge University Press, New Delhi.
J Kundu, KS James, B Hossain, R Chakraborty (2023) “Gender differences in premature mortality for cardiovascular disease in India, 2017–18”, BMC Public Health 23 (1), 547 (10.1186/s12889-023-15454-9).
AK Kannaujiya, K Kumar, L McDougal, AK Upadhyay, A Raj, K S James, Abhishek Singh (2023) “Interpregnancy Interval and Child Health Outcomes in India: Evidence from Three Recent Rounds of National Family Health Survey” Maternal and Child Health Journal 27 (1), 126-141 (10.1007/s10995-022-03559-3).
K. S. James, Udaya S. Mishra, V. Rinju and Professor Sasee Pallikadavath (2022) “Sequential impact of components of maternal and child care services on the continuum of care in India”, Journal of Biosocial Science. May 10, https://doi.org/10.1017/S002193202100016X
AK Kannaujiya, K Kumar, AK Upadhyay, L McDougal, A Raj, K S James, Abhishek Singh (2022), “Effect of preterm birth on early neonatal, late neonatal, and post neonatal mortality in India”, PLOS Global Public Health 2 (6), (10.1371/journal.pgph.0000205).
Upadhyay, Ashish Kumar, Kaushalendra Kumar, K.S. James, Lotus McDougal, Anita Raj, and Abhishek Singh (2022) “Association between intimate partner violence and contraceptive use discontinuation in India”. Studies in Family Planning (10.1111/sifp.12184).
K S James (2021) ‘’On the Demographic and Gender Dividend in India’’, in Sujata Patel (ed) Neoliberalism, Urbanisation, & Aspirations in contemporary India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
Julie Kim, Yuning Liu, Weiyu Wang, Jeffrey C Blossom, Laxmi Kant Dwivedi, K S James, Rakesh Sarwal, Rockli Kim, SV Subramanian (2021) “Estimating the Burden of Child Undernutrition for Smaller Electoral Units in India”, JAMA network open, 4 (10), October 29, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.29416.
Abhishek Singh, Praveen Chokhandre, Ajeet Kumar Singh, Kathryn M Barker, Kaushalendra Kumar, Lotus McDougal, K S James, Anita Raj (2021) “Development of the India Patriarchy Index: Validation and Testing of Temporal and Spatial Patterning”, Social Indicators Research, July 09, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02752-1
Srinivas Goli, K. S. James, Devender Singh, Venkatesh Srinivasan, Rakesh Mishra, Md Juel Rana and Umenthala Srikanth Reddy (2021) “Economic returns of family planning and fertility decline in India, 1991–2061” , Journal of Demographic Economics, April 20, (https://doi.org/10.1017/dem.2021.3).
Arun Balachandran, KS James, Leo van Wissen, K C Samir, Fanny Janssen (2021), “Can Changes in Education Alter Future Population Ageing in Asia and Europe?”, Journal of Biosocial Science, March 30, (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021932021000134).
Abhishek Singh, Kaushalendra Kumar, Ajit Kumar Yadav, K. S. James, Lotus McDougal Yamini Atmavilas, & Anita Raj, A. (2021), “Factors Influencing the Sex Ratio at Birth in India: A New Analysis based on Births Occurring between 2005 and 2016”, Studies in Family Planning, February, 22, (https://doi.org/10.1111/sifp.12147)
K S James (2020), “Measuring Demographic Dividend: Approaches and Measures”, Janasamkhya, Vol. XXXVI-VII, 2018-19.
Priyanka Dixit, John Cleland and K. S. James (2020), “Sex Differentials in Child Health and Health Care: A reappraisal of bias in India” Population Studies, August (https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2020.1807042).
Kaushalendra Kumar, Abhishek Singh, K. S. James, Lotus McDougal and Anita Raj (2020)“Gender bias in hospitalization financing from borrowings, selling of assets, contribution from relatives or friends in India”, Social Science and Medicine. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113222)
Srinivas Goli, K. S. James, Saseendran Pallikadavath, Udaya S. Mishra, S. Irudaya Rajan, Ravi Durga Prasad, Pradeep S. Salve (2020) “Perplexing condition of child full immunisation in economically better off Gujarat in India: An assessment of associated factors”, VACCINE, Vol. 38, P: 5831-5841. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.041)
S.V. Subramanian and K. S. James (2020) “Use of Demographic and Health Survey Framework as a Population Surveillance Strategy for COVID 19” The LANCET Global Health, April 29, 2020. (DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30213-8).
Arun Balachandran, Joop de Beer, KS James, Leo van Wissen, Fanny Janssen (2019) “Comparison of Population Ageing in Europe and Asia Using a Time Consistent and Comparative Ageing Measure”, Journal of Ageing and Health, Vol.32, No. 5-6, P: 340-351. (https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264318824180)
Sohini Paul, Sourabh Paul, K S James (2019) “Universalisation versus targeting in maternal and child health care provisioning: Evidence from India”, SSM Population Health, Vol 9. (doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100502)
Arun Balachandran and K S James (2019) “A Multidimensional Perspective on Gender Gap in Health Among Older Adults in India and China: Application of a new ageing measure”, Ageing and Society, October 30. (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X19001521)
Srinivas Goli, Bheemeshwar Reddy A, K S James, Venkatesh Srinivasan (2019) “Economic Independence and Social Security among India’s Elderly”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. LIV, No. 39, September 28, P:32-41.
Ajay Bailey, Jyoti Hallad and K James (2018) “They had to go: Indian Older Adults’ Experiences in rationalising and compensating the absence of Migrant Children”, Sustainability, Vol. 10, No. 6. (https://doi.org/10.3390/su10061946)
K S James and Srinivas Goli (2017) “Demographic Change in India: Is the country prepared for the challenge”, Brown Journal of World Affairs, Vol XXIII, No 1, P:169-187.
K S James and Annie George (2016) “The Contemporary Fertility Transition in India”, International Journal of South Asian Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1, P: 131-138.
Jessica M. Perkins, Haw-young Lee, K. S. James, Juhwan Oh, Aditi Krishna, Jongho Heo, Jong-koo Lee and S.V. Subramanian (2016) “Marital Status, Widowhood Duration, gender and health outcomes: a cross sectional study among older adults in India”, BMC Public Health, Sep 30. (DOI 10.1186/s12889-016-3682-9)
K. Srinivasan and K. S. James (2015) “Golden Cage: The stability of marriage in India” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. L, No.13, March 28.
K. S James and N. Kavitha (2015) “View from a Fast Growing Nation: What demographic change means for India?”, in Katinka Barysch (ed) Our Wold and Us: How our Environment and our Societies Change, Allianz SE: Germany
M. Benson Thomas and K. S. James (2014) ‘Changes in mortality and human longevity in Kerala: are they leading to the advanced stage?’, Global Health Action, Vol.7, May 2014. (DOI: 10.3402/gha.v7.22938 )
Vegard Skirbekk and K. S. James (2014) ‘Abuse against elderly in India –the role of education’, BMC Public Health, Vol.14, P: 336, April, 2014. (https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-336)
K.S. James (2014) “Recent Shifts in Infant Mortality in India: An Exploration”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XLIX, No. 3, (January 18), P:14-17.
Tiziana Leone, K S James and Sabu S Padmadas (2013) “The Burden of Maternal Health Care Expenditure in India: Multilevel Analysis of National Data”, Maternal and Child Health Journal, Vol. 17, No. 9, P:1622-1630. (DOI: 10.1007/s10995-012-1174-9)
K.S. James, V. Skirbekk, and J. Van Bavel (2012) “Education and the Global Fertility Transition: Foreword”, Vienna Year Book of Population Research, Vol. 10. No.1, P:1-8.
Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis and K.S. James (2012) “Urbanization and the South Asian Enigma: A Case Study of India”, in Urbanization and Development in Asia: Multidimensional Perspectives, Jo Beall, Basudeb Guha-Khasnobis and Ravi Kanbur (eds), Oxford University Press, New York.
K S James (2011) “India’s Demographic Change, Opportunities and Challenges”, Science, July, 29. (DOI:10.1126/science.1207969)
