Maternal Education, Linkages and Child Nutrition in the Long and Short-run: Evidence from the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys

Authors

Ambel Alemayehu Azeze, The World BankFollow
Wei-chiao HuangFollow

Abstract

We used the 2000 and 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys to analyze the effect of maternal education and its pathways on chronic (long-run) and acute (short-run) malnutrition inEthiopia. The pathways examined in this study are socioeconomic status, maternal health-seeking behavior, maternal knowledge of health and family planning and reproductive behavior. We find that maternal education works through all except health-seeking behavior. We also find that maternal education and its pathways are more relevant and robust in explaining chronic than acute malnutrition. Socioeconomic status is the most important factor linking maternal education and child nutritional status. Although girls’ education is a high policy priority, it may take time before its direct and indirect impacts to materialize and substantially improve child health outcomes. Faster results would require direct interventions on key elements of socioeconomic status.

Recommended Citation

Alemayehu Azeze, Ambel and Huang, Wei-chiao (2014) "Maternal Education, Linkages and Child Nutrition in the Long and Short-run: Evidence from the Ethiopia Demographic and Health Surveys," International Journal of African Development: Vol. 1: Iss. 2, Article 3.
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/ijad/vol1/iss2/3