Effects of Reproductive Health on Poverty in Malawi, 2008-2010 MaiMwana-IFS Economic Survey

This research aimed to investigate the causal effect of reproductive health on poverty, primarily using data from Malawi on randomised interventions that relate specifically to reproductive health. The following poverty indicators were included: household consumption, female labour supply, and health and education of children.

The following research hypotheses were tested:

• pregnancy related mortality and morbidity reduce investment in children's human capital;
• breastfeeding improves infant health but may reduce female labour supply and either increase or decrease household consumption;
• parental HIV-infection reduces child schooling but may reduce or increase child work. As a consequence Volunteering Counselling and Testing might also increase schooling and affect child work;
• collectively-generated information about reproductive health increases contraceptive use by women.

The data included in the UK Data Archive study are from two waves of a longitudinal household survey of women of child-bearing age in Mchinji District, Malawi. Further information may be found on the ESRC Effects of Reproductive Hea… award webpage and the MaiMwana Project website.

For details on the interventions and experimental design, users are advised to obtain the following article:
Lewycka, S., Mwansambo, C., Kazembe, P., Phiri, T., Mganga, A., Rosato, M. and Chapota, H. (2010) 'A cluster randomised controlled trial of the community effectiveness of two interventions in rural Malawi to improve health care and to reduce maternal, newborn and infant mortality', Trials, 11(1), p.88.

For further details on survey methodology, users are advised to obtain the following publication:
Fitzsimons, E., Malde, B., Mesnard, A. and Vera-Hernandez, M. (2012) Household responses to information on child nutrition: experimental evidence from Malawi, Institute for Fiscal Studies Working Paper W12/07, IFS: London.