BOX 8.3 FINDINGS Mothers’ Health Knowledge Is Crucial for Raising Child Health
Usually, formal education is needed in comple- Glewwe concludes, “Mother’s health knowledge alone
mentary relationship with ongoing access to cur- rent information. Paul Glewwe found in an analysis of data from Morocco that a mother’s basic health knowledge had a positive effect on her children’s health. Several mechanisms were possible, such as that “formal education directly teaches health knowl- edge to future mothers; literacy and numeracy skills acquired in school assist future mothers in diagnosing and treating child health problems; and exposure to modern society from formal schooling makes women more receptive to modern medical treatments.” But,
appears to be the crucial skill for raising child health. In Morocco, such knowledge is primarily obtained outside the classroom, although it is obtained using literacy and numeracy skills learned in school.... Teaching of health knowledge skills in Moroccan schools could substantially raise child health and nutrition in Morocco.”
Source: Based on Paul Glewwe, “Why does mother’s schooling raise child health in developing countries? Evidence from Morocco,” Journal of Human Resources 34 (1999): 124–159.