IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/afe/journl/v20y2018i1p48-58.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Household Economic Well-being and Child Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Author

Listed:
  • Janvier Mwisha Kasiwa

    (Department of Economics, University of Goma)

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of economic wellbeing of households on child health in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using data from the Demographic and Health Survey for 2014. A series of econometric tools are used to estimate the effects. The control function approach is shown to be the most appropriate estimation method. The results show that an increase in household economic wellbeing reduces child malnutrition. It is also found that younger children are more likely to be underweight, and that birth weight is a significant determinant of nutritional status up to age five. The main policy implication of the paper is that creation of jobs and other economic opportunities would enhance child health in DRC via improvements in living conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Janvier Mwisha Kasiwa, 2018. "Household Economic Well-being and Child Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 20(1), pages 48-58.
    • Handle: RePEc:afe:journl:v:20:y:2018:i:1:p:48-58
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.afeawpapers.org/RePEc/afe/afe-journl/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/JAD_20n1_Spring_2018_7.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Satvika Chalasani & Shea Rutstein, 2014. "Household wealth and child health in India," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 68(1), pages 15-41, March.
    2. Germano Mwabu, 2009. "The Production of Child Health in Kenya: A Structural Model of Birth Weight," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 18(2), pages 212-260, March.
    3. Gary S. Becker & Nigel Tomes, 1994. "Human Capital and the Rise and Fall of Families," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, Third Edition, pages 257-298, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    5. Jemima Frimpong & Dozie Okoye & Roland Pongou, 2016. "Economic Growth, Health Care Reform, and Child Nutrition in Ghana," Journal of African Development, African Finance and Economic Association (AFEA), vol. 18(2), pages 41-60.
    6. Case, Anne & Fertig, Angela & Paxson, Christina, 2005. "The lasting impact of childhood health and circumstance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 365-389, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Joseph I. Uduji & Elda N. Okolo-Obasi & Simplice A. Asongu, 2019. "Multinational Oil Companies in Nigeria and Corporate Social Responsibility in the HIV/AIDS Response in Host Communities," CEREDEC Working Papers 19/012, Centre de Recherche pour le Développement Economique (CEREDEC).
    2. Janvier Mwisha-Kasiwa & Cédrick M. Kalemasi & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2024. "Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Practices and Children’s Nutritional Status in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys," Working Papers 24/023, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    3. Armand Mboutchouang K. & Cédric Foyet K. & Cédrick Kalemasi M., 2023. "Child fostering and health nutritional outcomes of under-five: Evidence from Cameroon," Working Papers 23/008, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
    4. Hyung Baek Lim & Chulwoo Kim, 2020. "The failure of a rural development project: South Korean official development assistance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Asian Journal of Agriculture and rural Development, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 10(1), pages 259-269, June.
    5. Janvier Mwisha-Kasiwa & Cédrick Kalemasi-Mosengo & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2023. "Understanding the link between gendered access to agricultural land and household nutrition outcomes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)," Working Papers of The Association for Promoting Women in Research and Development in Africa (ASPROWORDA). 23/017, The Association for Promoting Women in Research and Development in Africa (ASPROWORDA).
    6. Osabuohien, Evans S. & Efobi, Uchenna R. & Herrmann, Raoul T. & Gitau, Ciliaka M.W., 2019. "Female labor outcomes and large-scale agricultural land investments: Macro-micro evidencefrom Tanzania," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 716-728.
    7. Edafe, Oluwatosin D. & Osabuohien, Evans & Matthew, Oluwatoyin & Osabohien, Romanus & Khatoon, Rehmat, 2023. "Large-scale agricultural investment and female employment in African communities: Quantitative and qualitative insights from Nigeria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    8. Janvier Mwisha-Kasiwa & Cédrick M. Kalemasi & Oasis Kodila-Tedika, 2024. "Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Practices and Children’s Nutritional Status in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 24/023, African Governance and Development Institute..
    9. Armand Mboutchouang K. & Cédric Foyet K. & Cédrick Kalemasi M., 2023. "Child fostering and health nutritional outcomes of under-five: Evidence from Cameroon," Working Papers of The Association for Promoting Women in Research and Development in Africa (ASPROWORDA). 23/003, The Association for Promoting Women in Research and Development in Africa (ASPROWORDA).
    10. Armand Mboutchouang K. & Cédric Foyet K. & Cédrick Kalemasi M., 2023. "Child fostering and health nutritional outcomes of under-five: Evidence from Cameroon," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 23/008, African Governance and Development Institute..

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Schultz, T. Paul, 2010. "Population and Health Policies," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 4785-4881, Elsevier.
    2. Huebener, Mathias, 2015. "The role of paternal risk attitudes in long-run education outcomes and intergenerational mobility," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 64-79.
    3. Braxton, John Carter & Chikhale, Nisha & Herkenhoff, Kyle & Phillips, Gordon, 2024. "Intergenerational Mobility and Credit," IZA Discussion Papers 16826, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Datta Gupta, Nabanita & Lausten, Mette & Pozzoli, Dario, 2012. "Does Mother Know Best? Parental Discrepancies in Assessing Child Functioning," IZA Discussion Papers 6962, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Angelini, Viola & Mierau, Jochen O. & Viluma, Laura, 2021. "Socioeconomic Conditions in Childhood and Mental Health Later in Life," GLO Discussion Paper Series 844, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Villarreal, Francisco G., 2014. "Financial Services and Household Inequality in Mexico," MPRA Paper 57075, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Glenn P. Jenkins & Hope Amala Anyabolu & Pejman Bahramian, 2019. "Family decision-making for educational expenditure: new evidence from survey data for Nigeria," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(52), pages 5663-5673, November.
    8. Luc Arrondel & François-Charles Wolff, 1998. "La nature des transferts inter vivos en France : investissements humains, aides financières et transmission du patrimoine," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 135(4), pages 1-27.
    9. Powdthavee, Nattavudh & Stutzer, Alois, 2014. "Economic Approaches to Understanding Change in Happiness," IZA Discussion Papers 8131, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Ubaldi, Michele & Picchio, Matteo, 2023. "Intergenerational Scars: The Impact of Parental Unemployment on Individual Health Later in Life," IZA Discussion Papers 16103, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. repec:dau:papers:123456789/11242 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Marco Francesconi & Cheti Nicoletti, 2006. "Intergenerational mobility and sample selection in short panels," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(8), pages 1265-1293, December.
    13. Haas, Steven, 2008. "Trajectories of functional health: The 'long arm' of childhood health and socioeconomic factors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 849-861, February.
    14. Eriksson, Tor & Bratsberg, Bernt & Raaum, Oddbjørn, 2005. "Earnings persistence across generations: Transmission through health?," Memorandum 35/2005, Oslo University, Department of Economics.
    15. Barnet-Verzat, Christine & Wolff, Francois-Charles, 2002. "Motives for pocket money allowance and family incentives," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 339-366, June.
    16. Ubaldi Michele & Picchio Matteo, 2025. "Intergenerational Scars: The Impact of Parental Unemployment on Individual Health Later in Life," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 26(1), pages 35-70.
    17. Luc Arrondel & André Masson, 1991. "Que nous enseignent les enquêtes sur les transferts patrimoniaux en France ?," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 100(4), pages 93-128.
    18. Michal Brzezinski, 2017. "Childhood circumstances, personality traits and adult-life economic outcomes in developing countries: Evidence from STEP," IBS Working Papers 05/2017, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    19. Ben-Halima, B. & Chusseau, N. & Hellier, J., 2014. "Skill premia and intergenerational education mobility: The French case," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 50-64.
    20. Grossman, Michael, 2006. "Education and Nonmarket Outcomes," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & F. Welch (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 10, pages 577-633, Elsevier.
    21. Sneha Elango & Jorge Luis García & James J. Heckman & Andrés Hojman, 2015. "Early Childhood Education," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 2, pages 235-297, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Child health; Economic well-being; Household; Africa; DR Congo;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C35 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:afe:journl:v:20:y:2018:i:1:p:48-58. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Christian Nsiah (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/afeaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.