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Whose education affects a child’s nutritional status? From parents' to household's education

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  • Francesco Burchi

    (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE))

Abstract

Background: The paper engages in the ongoing debate regarding the determinants of child nutrition in developing countries and stresses the potential contribution of the education of household members other than the child’s parents. Objective: The aim of the paper is threefold: (1) to verify whether there is evidence of the key role of parents’ education for children’s nutrition; (2) to explore the possible presence of the externalities generated by the literacy of household members different from the child’s parents; (3) to test whether there is difference in the influence of these variables on the two indicators of child nutrition, child height-for-age and weight-for-age. Methods: The determinants of child nutrition were analyzed by estimating a series of econometric models through OLS regressions applied on data from the 2003 DHS survey in Mozambique. By means of seemingly unrelated regression together with formal testing we compared the impact of the covariates on the two outcomes. Results: In line with previous studies, we find that one year of mother’s education increases their children’s height-for-age and weight-for-age z-scores by nearly 0.025 and 0.015. The presence of another literate household member has a significant, though limited, effect on child height while it has no influence on child weight. Lastly, there is no statistically significant difference in the effect of parents’ education on the two indicators while our measure of proximate literacy has a significantly larger impact on child height. Conclusions: These findings should orient policy-makers toward income-augmenting and education-enhancing policies: the importance of non-parents’ literacy opens a further space for investment in education.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Burchi, 2012. "Whose education affects a child’s nutritional status? From parents' to household's education," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 27(23), pages 681-704.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:27:y:2012:i:23
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2012.27.23
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    Cited by:

    1. José Cardoso & Lindsey Allwright & Vincenzo Salvucci, 2016. "Characteristics and determinants of child malnutrition in Mozambique, 2003-11," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-147, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Headey, Derek D., 2014. "An analysis of trends and determinants of child undernutrition in Ethiopia, 2000‐2011:," ESSP working papers 70, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Headey, Derek D. & Hoddinott, John F., 2014. "Understanding the rapid reduction of undernutrition in Nepal, 2001-2011:," IFPRI discussion papers 1384, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Emily Smith-Greenaway, 2015. "Educational attainment and adult literacy," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 33(35), pages 1015-1034.
    5. Fatima Zahra & Nicole Haberland & Stephanie Psaki, 2022. "PROTOCOL: Causal mechanisms linking education with fertility, HIV, and child mortality: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(2), June.
    6. Elisabetta Aurino & Francesco Burchi, 2014. "Children’s Multidimensional Health and Medium-Run Cognitive Skills in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (Documento de Trabajo 129 – Salud multidimensional de los niños y sus habilidades cognitivas en e," Documentos de Trabajo (Niños del Milenio-GRADE) ninosm129, Niños del Milenio (Young Lives).
    7. Duguma, Mesay Kebede & Brüntrup, Michael & Tsegai, Daniel, 2017. "Policy options for improving drought resilience and its implication for food security: the cases of Ethiopia and Kenya," IDOS Studies, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), volume 98, number 98, July.
    8. José Cardoso & Lindsey Allwright & Vincenzo Salvucci, 2016. "Characteristics and determinants of child malnutrition in Mozambique, 2003–11," WIDER Working Paper Series 147, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Headey, Derek & Hoddinott, John & Ali, Disha & Tesfaye, Roman & Dereje, Mekdim, 2015. "The Other Asian Enigma: Explaining the Rapid Reduction of Undernutrition in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 749-761.
    10. Elisabetta Aurino & Francesco Burchi, 2017. "Children’s Multidimensional Health and Medium-Term Cognitive Skills in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(2), pages 289-311, April.
    11. Smith-Greenaway, Emily, 2015. "Are literacy skills associated with young adults' health in Africa? Evidence from Malawi," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 124-133.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Africa; education; regression; child nutrition; externalities; anthropometric indicators; seemingly unrelated regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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