Title

A Mother’s Voice: Impacts of Spousal Communication Training on Child Health Investments

Author(s)

Martina Bjorkman Nyqvist Martina Bjorkman Nyqvist (Stockholm School of Economics)

Seema Jayachandran Seema Jayachandran (Princeton University)

Celine Zipfel Celine Zipfel (Stockholm School of Economics)

Abstract

Building on prior evidence that mothers often have a stronger preference for spending on children than fathers do, we use a randomized experiment to evaluate the impacts of a communication training program for mothers on child health in Uganda. The hypothesis is that the training will enable women to better convey their knowledge and preferences to their husbands and, thereby, boost investments in children’s health. We find that the program increases spousal discussion about the family’s health, nutrition, and finances. However, this does not increase overall adoption of health-promoting behaviors or improve child anthropometrics. One exception is that the communication training increases women’s and children’s intake of protein-rich foods as well as household spending on these foods.

Creation Date

2023-02

Section URL ID

Paper Number

306

URL

https://gceps.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/wp306_Jayachandran-et-al_mothers_voice23feb.pdf

File Function

Jel

D10, I12, O12

Keyword(s)

Spousal Communication, Children's Health, Uganda

Suppress

false

Series

3