Maternal Education and Child Height

Abstract

In Jamaica the effect of mothers education on child height is independent of household income sanitation sewerage and kitchen facilities as well as access to community health services. There is evidence that education is correlated with unobserved household heterogeneity such as tastes knowledge of symptoms of ill health food preparation methods and variations in the health production function. This correlation is consistent with child care norms in Jamaica where females within households routinely share child care responsibilities and thus information related to child health. An important implication of this result is that the increased education of any woman in the household (and not just the mother or primary caregiver) can have a positive impact on child health. Unlike income information is a public good within the household and thus is easily shared. (excerpt)