The Impact of Maternal Employment on Child Survival—the Case of India

This paper re-examines the relationship between maternal employment and child survival in India. It examines differences in survival to age five between children of working and non-working mothers. Also, it examines which aspects of maternal employment (e.g. work location or occupational category) are more relevant to understanding child survival. Data come from India’s National Family Health Survey. Formation of comparison groups (e.g. non-working vs. working mothers) is aided by propensity score matching, and differences between matched groups in child survival are estimated through survival analysis. In urban areas, results show higher risk of dying for children of working mothers as compared to children of non-working mothers. No similar relationship was found in rural areas. Also, results show that some aspects of employment increase the risk of mortality more than other: working at home (but not away from home) or working in low-status occupation is associated with increased risk of child mortality.