The Differential Effect of Mothers' Education on Mortality of Boys and Girls in India

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Abstract
In this study we consider whether the influence of a mother's education is the same on her daughters and her sons in a society which often treats them differently. Median-polish technique was used with data from the 1981 Census of India to determine the relative effect of mothers' education on mortality of boys and girls in childhood. It was found, as expected, that improved mothers' education reduced mortality at all ages below five years for both sexes. Further, the effect was found to be greater on girl than on boy children, particularly in the northern states. The effect of mothers' education was much greater than that of rural or urban residence. Previous research on the relationship between mothers' education and child mortality in India and elsewhere is discussed, as are possible underlying reasons for the differential treatment of boys and girls, and why it may be altered by education of the mother.

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