Abstract
Interest is growing in the research literature in exploring how child nutrition is affected by sociocultural practices, such as polygyny. However, evaluation of the effect of polygyny on child nutrition is hindered by the complexity of the relationship. This paper investigates the effect of polygyny on anthropometric outcomes while recognising that unobservable household characteristics may simultaneously influence both the decision to form a polygynous union and the ability of the household to adequately nourish children. We apply an instrumental variable approach based on the occurrence of same-sex siblings in a woman’s first two births to generate exogenous variation in polygyny. Using data from the 2008 and 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys, we find a detrimental effect of polygyny on child undernutrition. Our results show that the effect of polygyny is substantially reduced when we control for household characteristics, suggesting that part of the link between polygyny and child undernutrition is mediated through these channels. Nevertheless, the estimated coefficients of polygyny remain sizeable and strongly statistically significant even after controlling for these characteristics. Polygynous families may have different behavioural childcare practices, and/or the reduced bargaining power of women associated with polygynous families could be associated with higher rates of child undernutrition.
Highlights
Undernutrition continues to be a major challenge and cause of under-development in low- and middle-income countries
Polygyny remains prevalent in Nigeria where about one out of three children live in polygynous families
Child undernutrition remains high in Nigeria with one out of three children under five years of age estimated to be stunted in 2013
Summary
Undernutrition continues to be a major challenge and cause of under-development in low- and middle-income countries. Undernutrition in sub-Saharan Africa in particular remains pervasive due to insufficient food intake, widespread micronutrient deficiencies, and health challenges, including a significant disease burden and the adverse public health impacts of poor water and sanitation facilities. Across sub-Saharan Africa, one-third of children under five years of age are stunted in their growth and 8.5 percent are acutely undernourished (WHO 2017). The focus of this paper is on associations between polygyny and child undernutrition in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa with a rapidly growing population that stood at about 200 million in 2017. As is the trend throughout sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria has made gains, if slow, in reducing child undernutrition in recent years. While undernutrition is prevalent throughout the country, significant heterogeneity is seen across geo-political zones – levels of child undernutrition are significantly higher in northern Nigeria In 2013, it was estimated that one out of three young children were stunted in their growth, a reduction from the 42 percent of children estimated to be stunted in 2008 (NPC and ICF Macro 2009, NPC & ICF International 2014). while undernutrition is prevalent throughout the country, significant heterogeneity is seen across geo-political zones – levels of child undernutrition are significantly higher in northern Nigeria
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