Parental Education and Child Health: Evidence from China*

Pushkar Maitra,Yaer Zhuang,Xiujian Peng

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8381.2006.00224.x

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of parental, household and community character-istics on the health of children in China. We find that birth order, death of elder siblings, use of prenatal care and alcohol consumption by the mother when pregnant have statistically significant effects on the health of children. Although parental education does not have a significant direct effect on child health, it does affect mothers’ behavior during pregnancy and inflfluences the use of health inputs, indirectly impacting the health of children. The research findings have important implications for both family planning programs and broader social policies in China.

Highlights

Child health has important effects on learning, on labor productivity and, more importantly, on child survival and mortality
We find that birth order, death of elder siblings, use of prenatal care and alcohol consumption by the mother when pregnant have statistically significant effects on the health of children
NUMPREVDEAD is negative and statistically significant. This essentially implies that an increase in the number of previous children born to the woman that have died, results in a lower health status of the child and the marginal effects show that a unit increase in the number of previous children

Summary

Introduction

Child health has important effects on learning, on labor productivity (as adults) and, more importantly, on child survival and mortality. In recent years there has been a large volume of published literature that has examined the determinants of child health. Of particular importance has been the analysis of the relationship between parental education and child health.. The published literature on child health and its determinants in China is rather limited. One important aim of the present paper is to bridge that research gap and to explore strategies for improving child health. In the present paper we will examine the relationship between parental education and child health in China using an ordered probit model. Parental education does not have a significant direct effect on child health, it does affect mothers’ behavior during pregnancy and influences the use of health inputs, indirectly impacting the health of children

Methods

Results

Conclusion