Correlates of Help‐Seeking Behaviour in a Low‐Income Country: A Focus on Children's and Women's Outcomes

In developing countries, where access to markets and services is limited, poor households often rely on social networks for support. We examine the correlates and outcomes of help‐seeking behaviour among impoverished households in Uganda. We use micro‐household data from the Living Standard Measurement Study—Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS‐ISA), a nationally representative longitudinal survey of over 3000 households across seven periods between 2009 and 2020. We employ panel data estimators to explore the relationship between help‐seeking behaviours and household demographics and socioeconomics. We then estimate the relationships between help‐seeking and women's empowerment and children's schooling outcomes. Findings show that help‐seeking is positively correlated with poor households setting up businesses but negatively correlated with asset‐rich households. Likewise, help‐seeking for business and coping with shocks is more common among rural households and ethnic minorities. While women's empowerment is positively correlated with help‐seeking, child nutrition and schooling are negatively correlated with help‐seeking for coping with shocks.