Women’s empowerment and child mortality

Abstract

This paper investigates the nexus between women’s empowerment and child health, in particular examining whether having more rights, and which rights, leads to improvements in the well-being of children, as reflected by child mortality rates. We distinguish between civil rights, political rights, and economic rights. In our sample of 134 countries over the period 1950–2018, and employing 27 separate rights-based measures of empowerment, women’s empowerment commonly contributes to a reduction in child mortality in high-income countries, however, low- and middle-income countries reveal striking differences across some measures. For example, while women’s participation in public administration or employment in the public sector is associated with reduced child mortality, the opposite is observed for the right to run a business and access to banking. Results suggest that strong institutions are needed to ensure rights are translated into better welfare.