Orphanhood and human capital destruction: is there persistence into adulthood?

Demography. 2010 Feb;47(1):163-80. doi: 10.1353/dem.0.0094.

Abstract

This article presents unique evidence that orphanhood matters in the long run for health and education outcomes in a region of northwestern Tanzania. We study a sample of 718 non-orphaned children surveyed in 1991-1994 who were traced and reinterviewed as adults in 2004. A large proportion, 19%, lost one or more parents before age 15 in this period, allowing us to assess permanent health and education impacts of orphanhood. In the analysis, we control for a wide range of child and adult characteristics before orphanhood, as well as community fixed effects. We find that maternal orphanhood has a permanent adverse impact of 2 cm of final height attainment and one year of educational attainment. Expressing welfare in terms of consumption expenditure, the result is a gap of 8.5% compared with similar children whose mothers survived until at least their 15th birthday.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Body Height*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Child, Orphaned* / statistics & numerical data
  • Educational Status*
  • Female
  • Health Status Disparities*
  • Humans
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Regression Analysis
  • Tanzania / epidemiology