Unpacking the Links Between Women's Empowerment and Child Nutrition Evidence Using Nationally Representative Data From Bangladesh

This paper examines the relationship between gender inequality and nutrition using direct indicators of empowerment such as mobility, decision-making power, and attitudes towards verbal and physical abuse. Our approach draws on the theory of the household as a utility maximizing unit that uses women’s status and characteristics as inputs to produce a final good, child health. Indices that capture distinct dimensions of women’s empowerment are used as explanatory variables along with controls for age and sex of the child, maternal height and education. Results from Logit models indicate that a greater degree of women’s empowerment is associated with better long term nutritional status of children. Attitudes towards domestic violence have a significant effect on chronic malnutrition and mobility; participation in…