Determinants of Child Wellbeing and Human Capital in Ethiopia

Abstract

Investment in early childhood health and education provide children with the resources necessary to develop the cognitive and social skills that enhance their productivity later in life, but unfortunately, most children in Ethiopia have limited access to education and healthcare. Rates of child mortality and child morbidity are high, there is a high prevalence of child labour, and school enrolment rates are low. There is a pressing need for policymakers to understand the factors which contribute to these outcomes. Therefore, this thesis aims to identify key determinants of child labour, health and education in Ethiopia.

The thesis contains three main chapters. The first chapter examines the effects of harmful work on children’s health and education. We follow the guidelines set by the 18th International Conference of Labour Statisticians and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to make a distinction between light and harmful domestic work, the latter defined as involvement in domestic chores for four hours a day or longer. Using data from the 2014 Young Lives survey and applying instrumental variables (IV) estimators, we find that involvement in harmful domestic chores is negatively associated with z-score of BMI-for-age and time spent in education. The second chapter investigates the impact of parental illness on the allocation of children’s time. Using panel data from Young Lives surveys and employing fixed effects estimation, we find that paternal illness reduces children’s time spent in school and increases their time spent in income-generating work, whereas maternal illness reduces time spent in play and increases time spent in domestic work. Maternal illness has a relatively large effect on girls, whereas paternal illness has a relatively large effect on boys. The third chapter estimates the effect of local ethnic diversity on child immunisation uptake and nutritional status. Using a nationally representative sample from the 2011 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS-2011) and applying IV estimators, we find that children in relatively diverse communities are better nourished and more likely to receive full immunisation. There is also some evidence that women in more diverse communities are better informed about health issues and more empowered in making healthcare decisions.