Céline Zipfel on A mother’s voice: Impacts of spousal communication training on child health investments

Céline Zipfel presents at the WIDER Seminar Series on 15 March 2023.

A mother’s voice: Impacts of spousal communication training on child health investments

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.

About the presenter

Céline Zipfel is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Stockholm School of Economics, with research interests in development, labor and family economics.

WIDER Seminar Series

The WIDER Seminar Series showcases the latest research on key topics in development economics. It provides a forum for senior and early-career researchers, both in-house and external, to present recent and ongoing work related to UNU-WIDER’s current work programme.

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