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Anticipatory child fostering and household economic security in Malawi

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  • Lauren Bachan

    (Pennsylvania State University)

Abstract

Background: While there is a rich literature on the practice of child fostering in sub-Saharan Africa, little is known about how fostering impacts receiving households, as few studies consider household conditions both before and after fostering. Despite the fact that circumstances surrounding fostering vary, the literature’s key distinction of fostering is often drawn along the simple line of whether or not a household is fostering a child. This paper argues that anticipation of fostering responsibilities, in particular, is a useful dimension to distinguish fostering experiences for receiving households. Objective: This paper examines the relationship between receiving a foster child and subsequent changes in household wealth. Particular emphasis is placed on how these changes are conditioned by differing levels of anticipation of the fostering event. Methods: This study uses data from Tsogolo la Thanzi (TLT), a longitudinal survey in Balaka, Malawi. Using data from 1754 TLT respondents, fixed effects pooled time-series models are estimated to assess whether and how receiving a foster child changes household wealth. Results: This paper demonstrates the heterogeneity of fostering experiences for receiving households. The results show that households that anticipate fostering responsibilities experience a greater increase in household wealth than both households that do not foster and those that are surprised by fostering. Conclusions: Households that anticipate fostering responsibilities exhibit the greatest increase in household wealth. While fostering households that do not anticipate fostering responsibilities may not experience these gains, there is no evidence to indicate that such households are negatively impacted relative to households that do not foster. This finding suggests that additional childcare responsibilities may not be as detrimental to African households as some researchers have feared.

Suggested Citation

  • Lauren Bachan, 2014. "Anticipatory child fostering and household economic security in Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(40), pages 1157-1188.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:30:y:2014:i:40
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.40
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. 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.
    3. Lauren Gaydosh, 2015. "Childhood Risk of Parental Absence in Tanzania," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(4), pages 1121-1146, August.
    4. Collin F. Payne & Luca Maria Pesando & Hans‐Peter Kohler, 2019. "Private Intergenerational Transfers, Family Structure, and Health in a sub‐Saharan African Context," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 45(1), pages 41-80, March.
    5. Ariyo, Esther & Mortelmans, Dimitri & Wouters, Edwin, 2019. "The African child in kinship care: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 178-187.
    6. Cassandra Cotton, 2021. "An Enduring Institution? Child Fostering in Sub‐Saharan Africa," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(4), pages 1179-1206, December.
    7. Francesco Billari & Valentina Rotondi & Jenny Trinitapoli, 2020. "Mobile phones, digital inequality, and fertility: Longitudinal evidence from Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 42(37), pages 1057-1096.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sub-Saharan Africa; Malawi; households; child fostering;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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