Maternal Investments in Children: The Role of Expected Effort and Returns

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bhalotra, Sonia; Delavande, Adeline; Font-Gilabert, Paulino; Maselko, Joanna
• 署名单位: University of Technology Sydney; University of Warwick; University of Technology Sydney; Universidade Nova de Lisboa; University of London; King's College London; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueae059
• 发表日期: 2025
• 页码: 712-747
• 关键词: randomized controlled-trial; subjective expectations; parenting intervention; academic ability; infant origins; college major; DEPRESSION; outcomes; childhood; CHOICE

摘要

We investigate the importance of subjective expectations of returns to and effort costs of the two principal investments that mothers make in newborns: breastfeeding and stimulation. We find heterogeneity across mothers in rural Pakistan in expected effort costs and expected returns for outcomes in the cognitive, socio-emotional and health domains, and that this contributes to explaining heterogeneity in investments. We find no significant differences across women in preferences for child developmental outcomes. We simulate the impact of alternative policies on investments. Our findings highlight the relevance of interventions designed to address maternal depression and reduce perinatal fatigue alongside interventions that increase perceived returns to investments.