Examining the Association between Women’s Empowerment and Children’s Well-being: Results from Northern Ghana

The association of women’s empowerment in agriculture and children’s well-being was examined for a sample of children under the age of 60 months in Northern Ghana using a Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) model. Although not all empowerment variables have been shown to have association with children’s health well-being, results indicated that empowering women can have better long term health benefits for their children. INTRODUCTION It is well recognized in the literature that children’s well-being is linked to human capital development and long-term labor productivity (e.g. Alderman, Hoddinott, and Kinsey, 2006; Behrman, 1996; Pollitt, 1990; and Grantham-McGregor et al., 1999). For instance healthy and well educated children are fundamental to talent development and earning potential of individual citizens and the society as a whole. Research also shows that there is strong relationship between children’s health and development and their mother’s health status and care giving activities (Ramakrishnan, 2002; Huffman et al. 1998; WHO, 2013; Smith et al., 2003). Women are often the primary caregivers for their children. They can influence their children’s health directly through intrahousehold resource allocation and childcare practices, and indirectly through their own health and nutritional status (Smith et al., 2003). Educated women have increased household decision making that may contribute towards better children health (Caldwell, 1989). Women’s bargaining power has also been shown to have a positive correlation with a household’s resource allocation pattern in favor of children. (E.g. Quisumbing and Maluccio, 1999; Quismbing and Brière, 2000; Glick and Sahn, 1998; Lunderberg et al., 1997). Engle (1993) and Begin et al. (1999) both show that mother’s financial autonomy positively affects children’s nutritional status. These observations may have led to the assumption that women tend to internalize their children’s interests better than men (Basu, 2006). Therefore, the empowerment of women and its effect on children’s well-being and on long-term human capital development is of great interest to development practitioners, donor agencies and policy makers in developing countries.