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Maternal employment and childhood malnutrition in Ecuador

Author

Listed:
  • José Carlos Andrade

    (Universitat de Barcelona and INEC Ecuador)

  • Joan Gil

    (Universitat de Barcelona and BEAT)

Abstract

This paper estimates the causal impact of maternal employment on several childhood malnutrition outcomes in Ecuador, to understand the trade-off between the time mothers devote to work and child-caring activities. We use exogenous regional variation in maternal labour market conditions to account for the potential endogeneity of mothers’ employment. Using the Ecuadorian National Health and Nutrition Survey 2018 and the Living Conditions Survey 2014, the instrumental variable estimations indicated that maternal employment increases the probability of having stunted children by between 4.3 and 21 percent, while no significant effect was found on children suffering from wasting, underweight or overweight. We found that children with more educated, richer mothers appeared to be the most negatively affected. The results were robust to several robustness checks.

Suggested Citation

  • José Carlos Andrade & Joan Gil, 2022. "Maternal employment and childhood malnutrition in Ecuador," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2022/416, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ewp:wpaper:416web
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/183050
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Maternal employment; malnutrition outcomes; childhood; Ecuador.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

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