Abstract
This thesis investigates the role of maternal socioeconomic attributes on child health in South Africa. Focusing on three socioeconomic characteristics - education, employment and fertility choices, it aims to understand and assess the association between these maternal factors and child health. In the South African context of high unemployment, inequality and poverty, understanding these relationships are especially important. Given the compelling evidence of early childhood health on economic and social trajectories, economic outcomes such as education, employment and earnings could be affected. This study examines three socioeconomic characteristics; education, employment and fertility choices, aiming to understand and assess the association between these maternal factors and child health. The first paper (Chapter 3) explores the association between mothers’ education and child health. Use is made of the fixed/random effects and instrumental variables techniques to cater for endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity. Empirical results suggest that maternal education has a large and significant role in explaining child health outcomes in South Africa. A key finding from this study is that the effects of maternal education vary along racial and gender lines. Notably, these effects are stronger for the Black and Coloured populations compared to White and Asian/Indian population groups. Since these findings establish that maternal education can significantly contribute to reducing the high degree of inequality in South Africa, policy attention should be on investments in the education of the girl-child, especially those of the African racial group...
Ph.D. (Economics)