Person:
Hou, Xiaohui

Health, Nutrition and Population, East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank
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Fields of Specialization
health economics; social safety nets; poverty
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Health, Nutrition and Population, East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank
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Last updated January 31, 2023
Biography
Hou, Xiaohui is a Senior Economist in the World Bank.  Joined as a Young Professional, she has since worked in Human Development department and Poverty Reduction and Economic Management department across the East Europe and Central Asia region, the South Asia region, and most recently the East Asia and Pacific region.  She also spent a number of years in the World Bank Institute, the capacity building arm of the World Bank, focusing on face to face training and network development.  Her fields include health economics, social safety net, labor economics and impact evaluation. She has published a dozen of papers in both economics and medical peer reviewed journals. She also teaches as a visiting scholar. A Peking University graduate, she obtained her Ph.D. in the Health Services and Policy Analysis and a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master’s degree in Health Policy and Administration from the Washington State University. 
Citations 10 Scopus

Publication Search Results

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    Empowering Women : The Effect of Women’s Decision-Making Power on Reproductive Health Services Uptake - Evidence from Pakistan
    ( 2011-01-01) Hou, Xiaohui ; Ma, Ning
    A large body of research has attempted to explore the links between women's autonomy and their uptake of reproductive health services in the South Asia region, but the evidence so far is inconclusive. This study uses the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey to examine the influence of household decision making on women's uptake of reproductive health services. The analysis finds that women's decision-making power has a significant positive correlation with reproductive health services uptake and that influential males' decision-making power has the opposite effect, after controlling for socio-economic indicators and supply-side conditions. The findings suggest that empowering women and increasing their ability to make decisions may increase their uptake of reproductive health services. They also suggest that policies directed toward improving women's utilization of maternity services must target men as well as women in Pakistan.