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Heterogeneous Effects of Maternal Labor Market Participation on the Nutritional Status of Children: Empirical Evidence from Rural India

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  • Gracious M. Diiro

    (Makerere University)

  • Abdoul G. Sam

    (The Ohio State University)

  • David Kraybill

    (The Ohio State University)

Abstract

We use a dataset of rural Indian households to investigate the effects of maternal participation in labor markets on child nutrition (the standardized height-for-age). Our study differs methodologically from previous research in this realm in that we are using an instrumental variable quantile regression framework in order to estimate the causal effects of maternal work at various locations of the height-for-age distribution in rural India. The quantile estimates provide evidence of large heterogeneity in the effect of a mother’s work on child nutrition. In particular, the results suggest that it is children in the lower tail of the distribution who experience more sizable ‘nutritional premiums’ due to maternal labor market participation; the effects are small and insignificant for children in the rest of the distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Gracious M. Diiro & Abdoul G. Sam & David Kraybill, 2017. "Heterogeneous Effects of Maternal Labor Market Participation on the Nutritional Status of Children: Empirical Evidence from Rural India," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 10(3), pages 609-632, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:chinre:v:10:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s12187-016-9378-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s12187-016-9378-y
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    2. Mohammad Jakaria & Rejaul Karim Bakshi & M. Mehedi Hasan, 2022. "Is maternal employment detrimental to children’s nutritional status? Evidence from Bangladesh," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(1), pages 85-111, February.
    3. Kondratjeva, Olga & Sam, Abdoul G. & Mishra, Khushbu, 2021. "Impact of mother’s employment on children’s nutrition: evidence from Nepal," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313853, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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