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Polygynous marital structure and child survivorship in sub-Saharan Africa: Some empirical evidence from Ghana

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  • Gyimah, Stephen Obeng

Abstract

Although studies have found children in married families to have better health outcomes than those in other family types, this strand of research implicitly views marriage as monolithic and, by default, monogamous as found in western industrialized societies. In polygynous cultures, there is a need to make a distinction between polygynous and monogamous families, because these marital arrangements might imply varying levels of parental support necessary for optimum child outcomes. Using pooled children's data from the 1998 and 2003 (NÂ =Â 4938) Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys, this study investigates the effects of polygynous marital structure on child survivorship and assesses whether the effect is uniform over the entire childhood period. In models that did not allow for age-specific effects of polygyny, children in polygynous marriages were found to have an elevated risk of death. Further analysis revealed that only older children experienced the survival disadvantages associated with polygyny.

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  • Gyimah, Stephen Obeng, 2009. "Polygynous marital structure and child survivorship in sub-Saharan Africa: Some empirical evidence from Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 334-342, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:68:y:2009:i:2:p:334-342
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    1. Natascha Wagner & Matthias Rieger, 2015. "Polygyny and Child Growth: Evidence From Twenty-Six African Countries," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(2), pages 105-130, April.
    2. Abigail Barr & Marleen Dekker & Wendy Janssens & Bereket Kebede & Berber Kramer, 2019. "Cooperation in Polygynous Households," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 266-283, April.
    3. Shelley Clark & Dana Hamplová, 2013. "Single Motherhood and Child Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Life Course Perspective," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(5), pages 1521-1549, October.
    4. Vellore Arthi & James Fenske, 2018. "Polygamy and child mortality: Historical and modern evidence from Nigeria’s Igbo," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 97-141, March.
    5. Lépine, Aurélia & Strobl, Eric, 2013. "The Effect of Women’s Bargaining Power on Child Nutrition in Rural Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 17-30.
    6. Bove, Riley M. & Vala-Haynes, Emily & Valeggia, Claudia R., 2012. "Women's health in urban Mali: Social predictors and health itineraries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(8), pages 1392-1399.
    7. Edlund, Lena & Ku, Hyejin, 2011. "The African Slave Trade and the Curious Case of General Polygyny," MPRA Paper 52735, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 16 Dec 2013.
    8. Emily Smith-Greenaway & Jenny Trinitapoli, 2014. "Polygynous Contexts, Family Structure, and Infant Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(2), pages 341-366, April.

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