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Does maternal employment affect child nutrition status? New evidence from Egypt

Author

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  • Ahmed Shoukry Rashad
  • Mesbah Fathy Sharaf

Abstract

Even though maternal employment can increase family income, several studies suggest that it could have adverse consequences on children’s health. In this study, we use a nationally representative sample of 12,888 children, aged 0–5 years from Egypt to examine the impact of maternal employment on child nutritional indicators, namely: stunting, wasting, and being underweight and overweight. We adopted various estimation methods to control for observable and unobservable household characteristics in order to identify the causal effect of maternal employment. These different techniques include, propensity score matching (PSM), OLS regression with controlling for a wide range of individual characteristics, and an instrumental variable two-stage least squares (IV 2SLS) approach. Results of the PSM and OLS suggest that maternal employment is weakly associated with having a malnourished child. On the other hand, the IV 2SLS suggests a stronger and significant association between maternal employment and poor nutritional status among children.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahmed Shoukry Rashad & Mesbah Fathy Sharaf, 2019. "Does maternal employment affect child nutrition status? New evidence from Egypt," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 48-62, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:47:y:2019:i:1:p:48-62
    DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2018.1497589
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    Cited by:

    1. Md Zobraj Hosen, 2023. "Impact of maternal employment on children malnutrition status in Bangladesh: an empirical analysis," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 25(2), pages 500-530, December.
    2. Mutsami, Chrispinus & Maina, Kevin W. & Khonje, Makaiko G., 2025. "Women’s off-farm employment improves household nutrition in Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    3. Melaku, Astewale Bimr & Debela, Bethelhem Legesse & Qaim, Matin, 2023. "Women’s employment in high-value agriculture and child nutrition: Evidence from the Ethiopian cut-flower industry," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335848, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Mbalenhle Mkhize & Melusi Sibanda, 2020. "A Review of Selected Studies on the Factors Associated with the Nutrition Status of Children Under the Age of Five Years in South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-26, October.
    5. Kondratjeva, Olga & Sam, Abdoul G. & Mishra, Khushbu, 2021. "Impact of mother’s employment on children’s nutrition: evidence from Nepal," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 313853, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Mutsami, Chrispinus & Parlasca, Martin C. & Qaim, Matin, "undated". "Women’s off-farm employment and dietary quality in rural Africa," Discussion Papers 355423, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    7. repec:ags:aaea22:335848 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Lilia Bliznashka & Joshua Jeong & Lindsay M Jaacks, 2023. "Maternal and paternal employment in agriculture and early childhood development: A cross-sectional analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data," PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 3(1), pages 1-22, January.
    9. José Andrade & Joan Gil, 2023. "Maternal Employment and Child Malnutrition in Ecuador," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-25, June.
    10. Olivia Nankinga & Betty Kwagala & Cyprian Misinde & Eddy J. Walakira, 2022. "Childcare Arrangements and Wellbeing of Children of Employed Women in Central Uganda," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(1), pages 179-197, February.
    11. Melaku, Astewale Bimr & Qaim, Matin & Debela, Bethelhem Legesse, 2024. "Maternal employment in high-value agriculture and child nutrition: Evidence from the Ethiopian cut-flower industry," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    12. Bethelhem Legesse Debela & Esther Gehrke & Matin Qaim, 2021. "Links between Maternal Employment and Child Nutrition in Rural Tanzania," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(3), pages 812-830, May.
    13. Mukhtar A Ijaiya & Seun Anjorin & Olalekan A Uthman, 2024. "Navigating the nutritional paradox: The impact of sustainable development targets on childhood wasting and overweight prevalence," PLOS Global Public Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(6), pages 1-17, June.
    14. José Carlos Andrade & Joan Gil, 2022. "Maternal employment and childhood malnutrition in Ecuador," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2022/416, University of Barcelona School of Economics.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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