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Polygyny and Child Growth: Evidence From Twenty-Six African Countries
Authors: Natascha Wagner and Matthias Rieger
Source: Feminist Economics, 21(2): 105-130, DOI:10.1080/13545701.2014.927953
Topic(s): Child health
Polygyny
Country: Africa
  Multiple African Countries
Published: JUL 2014
Abstract: Using household data from twenty-six African countries, this study examines the correlation between four measures of polygyny and child growth. External validity is added to existing small-sample evidence by investigating this correlation across many countries and by controlling for, as well as exploring, sources of heterogeneity at the regional, country, household, and maternal level. Household fixed-effects models indicate that the children of monogamous mothers have significantly greater height-for-age z-scores than children of polygynous mothers. Also, a low ranking in the hierarchy of mothers and the ratio of married women to men are negatively correlated with child height. The correlation varies widely across countries and is strongest for multigenerational polygynous households.