ESRC Pathfinder Project Women's Autonomy and the Nutritional Status of Children

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ESRC Pathfinder ProjectWomen's Autonomy and
the Nutritional Status of Children Wiji
Arulampalam (Warwick), Nisha Srivastava
(University of Allahabad, India) and Anjor
Bhaskar (IFPRI,India)November 2009
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Motivation (1)

• Issues
• Nearly half the countrys children remaining
  undernourished in India (NFHS 3).
• 46 children under 3 years of age are
  underweight
• 38 are too short in relation to their height
• 19 are wasted.
• There are stark differences between social
  groups, rural and urban areas and economic
  status.

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Motivation (2)

• Poor nutrition causes irreversible damage to
  cognitive development and future health.
• Increases the probability of childhood mortality.
  
• Damage suffered in early life can lead to
  permanent impairment, and might also affect
  future generations.
• Benefits Its prevention can bring about
  important health, educational, and economic
  benefits.

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What is Female Autonomy?

• Women's status/autonomy women's power relative
  to men's.
• Autonomy reflects the extent to which the
  mother can influence her external circumstances
  in order to affect economic decisions taken by
  the household.

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Pathways

• Women are considered as caregivers in most
  societies.
• They bear the primary responsibility for the
  childs health and survival.
• Women who have little autonomy in the control
  over resources (including time and income) within
  households are likely to have
• lower status within the family
• less likely to be exposed to new health and
  nutrition knowledge due to restricted mobility
  and interaction.

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The Data (1)

• Indian NFHS (National Family Health Survey part
  of Demographic Health Surveys)
• 1992/93 1998/99 2005/06
• Will use the third round NFHS 3

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The Data (2)

• Survey was conducted in 29 Indian states
• Detailed health and anthropometric information on
  
• 111,781 women aged 15-54
• 70,130 men aged 15-54
• 46,655 children born in the last five years
  preceding the survey.

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The Data (3)
The Data (3)

• NFHS elicited responses to certain questions that
  may be interpreted as providing information on
  different aspects of autonomy enjoyed by the
  woman.