The impact of maternal education on child mortality: Evidence from an increase tuition fee policy in Vietnam

This study examines the causal impact of women’s human capital attainment on child mortality in Vietnam. We use the national representative data of the Vietnam Demographic Health Survey from 1997 and 2002 to investigate the effect of maternal education on three child health indicators: neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality rates. We took advantage of the tuition fee introduction in the lower secondary school level in 1989 to create an exogenous negative shock of educational environment for women. Our results first show that women who were exposed to the tuition fee introduction, on average, have 0.652 less years of schooling, compared to their counterparts. Using this exogenous reduction in educational attainment, our results show that a one-year reduction in maternal education led to increases in neonatal, infant, and under-five mortality rates by approximately 2.4, 3.0, and 3.4 percentage points, respectively. The shorter years of female education possibly hasten her age at first marriage and thus, age at first birth, which would contribute to unmatured and/or risky pregnancy and delivery. The lower education for women further hampers her empowerment in deciding the efficient and effective time and money allocations for better health outcomes.