Abstract:

The success of large-scale family planning programs depends on potential long-term benefits for women's health and economic empowerment. They are presumed to reduce total pregnancies and family size, which may free up women's time and resources. However, few studies have established long-term effects on health. We investigate the highly influential Matlab Maternal Child Health / Family Planning quasi-experiment effects on lifetime fertility and multiple dimensions of health 35 years after introduction of services. For cohorts of women defined by age at program initiation, using baseline and follow-up survey data, we find the program led to fewer children but few significant effects on health or economic production with one exception: women born 1950-1961, who experienced the largest MCH/FP effects on contraception and childbearing, have significantly poorer metabolic and functional health. Despite strong arguments in favor of long-term benefits, we observe no positive effects of this family planning program on long-term health.

Abstract:

This paper examines the long-term and intergenerational effects of improving the early childhood health environment on human capital in Bangladesh. In adulthood, children eligible for health promoting interventions exhibit increased height and reduced short stature, while males achieve higher levels of educational attainment. These finding are concentrated among individuals with the lowest pre-program health endowment, reducing inequality in human capital across generations, and underscoring the program's distributional implications. Intergenerational effects reveal daughters experienced increased height, reduced stunting, and improved cognitive outcomes. The findings suggest that failing to consider distributional and intergenerational effects of programs could lead to underinvestment in children.