Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP17916
Authors: Martina Björkman Nyqvist; Seema Jayachandran; Celine Zipfel
Abstract: Building on prior evidence that mothers often have a stronger preference for spending on children than fathers do, we use a randomized experiment to evaluate the impacts of a communication training program for mothers on child health in Uganda. The hypothesis is that the training will enable women to better convey their knowledge and preferences to their husbands and, thereby, boost investments in children’s health. We find that the program increases spousal discussion about the family’s health, nutrition, and finances. However, this does not increase overall adoption of health-promoting behaviors or improve child anthropometrics. One exception is that the communication training increases women’s and children’s intake of protein-rich foods as well as household spending on these foods.
Keywords: Child Health; Nutrition; Communication Training; Spousal Dialogue; Household Decision-Making
JEL Codes: O12; O55; J13; D13
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| communication training for mothers (J13) | spousal discussions about health, nutrition, and finances (D14) |
| spousal discussions about health, nutrition, and finances (D14) | improvements in perceived relationship quality and joint decision-making (D70) |
| communication training for mothers (J13) | women's and children's intake of protein-rich foods (J13) |
| communication training (L96) | improvements in spousal dialogue (J12) |
| communication training (L96) | no significant impacts on child anthropometrics or health outcomes (I15) |
| increased discussions (Y70) | lack of knowledge spillover to husbands (D13) |
| communication training (L96) | insufficient shift in decision-making power (D70) |