Maternal education and child health outcomes in South Africa: A panel data analysis

ABSTRACT

This study empirically assesses the relationship between mothers’ education and child health using continuous and binary proxies of child health outcomes. A panel, using four waves of the National Income Dynamic Study and a battery of estimation techniques, was employed. The results suggest that maternal education plays a large and significant role in explaining child health outcomes in South Africa. Our results also suggest that maternal education is relevant in respect to stunted growth (stunting). However, the effects of maternal education vary along races, implying levels of inequality. The effects are stronger in the black and coloured populations, possibly due to educational deficits. This suggests a need in improving the educational opportunities for these groups. We suggest that maternal education can significantly contribute to reducing the high degree of inequality in South Africa.

KEYWORDS:

• Maternal education
• child health
• panel data
• South Africa

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Southern Africa Labour and Research Unit (SALDRU) for providing the data. The authors also express sincere appreciation to the anonymous referees for their rigorous feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Over this period, poverty rates have decreased by 10% and Real Gross Domestic Product per capita has increased by 3.2% a year on average (African Economic Outlook, 2014).

2 This is measured using the food poverty line of ZAR 321 per month.

3 This period in South Africa’s history resulted in various laws being passed; like the Groups Area Act of 1950, which segregated the regions based on racial groups. While policies have been put in place to address these inequalities, the impact lag is relatively slow.

4 For example, only 31% of Black women are employed in comparison with white men at 73% (Department of Labour, 2011).

5 Although partial catch up is possible, the effect in developing countries due to poor socio-economic conditions is often more detrimental (Currie & Vogl, 2013).

6 Other factors that can influence children’s health include biological and environmental factors (like toxins being released and pollution being present).

7 This is as a result of previous apartheid policies, leading to male-labour migration, non-marriage, and, recently, Human Himmunodeficiency virus infection/Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS).

8 A further derivation of this theory is the human capital theory of health.

9 The health capital theory is a derivation of the human capital theory by Grossman (1999).

10 Panel data has many advantages, including: identification of unobserved effects, the possibility of estimating more dynamic models, and efficiency gains.

11 The z score shows the deviations from the referenced population. Other measures are weight-for-height z score (WHZ)and weight-for-age z score (WAZ).

12 Endogeneity could result from measurement error, simultaneity and omitted errors.

13 Other anthropometric indicators include weight-for-height z score (WHZ) and weight-for-age z score (WAZ).