Female labor force participation, paid maternity, caste system and under-5 mortality in Nepal

Abstract

Purpose The under-5 mortality rate in Nepal remains high in comparison to neighboring countries and developed nations. The result of this problem on Nepal’s social, economic, political and cultural development makes it an urgent priority requiring the Nepalese Government to address this issue. The purpose of this paper is to find out if Nepal’s high female labor force participation (FLFP), the caste system and no paid maternity leave are contributing factors to under-5 deaths in Nepal. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were taken from Nepal’s cross-sectional demographic health survey 2016–2017. The study sample included 5,060 children born to 3,074 mothers in the five years preceding the survey. Data were collected by interviewing respondents via a structured questionnaire selected through stratified random sampling methods. Findings The study found that the hazard ratio for FLFP, the caste of the mother and paid maternity were 1.145, 1.485 and 0.556, respectively, with a p-value <0.001. Therefore, the risk of death in children under-5 years for a working mother, a Terai caste mother and a mother who did not get paid maternity was 14, 45 and 48 percent, respectively, higher than for non-working mothers, mothers from other castes and mothers who got paid maternity. Originality/value This research demonstrated that FLFP, the caste of the mother and paid maternity leave are important factors for determining the risk of death in children under the age of 5.

Understanding the determinants of infant and under-five mortality rates: a multivariate decomposition analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys in Ghana, 2003, 2008 and 2014

“…FLFP was associated with the reduction of both infant and U5MR. The inverse relationship between FLFP and child survival is consistent with a more recent study in Nigeria36 but contrast similar studies conducted in Nepal 37 38. Authors that found a negative impact of FLFP explained that mothers who are economically active and hold certain key positions in society may not have time for their children exposing them to series of life-threatening diseases and other environmental hazards 39…”

Participation of women in the South Asian microfinance industry: An observation

“…The highest female borrower rate was observed in Nepal, with almost 100% in some years. Social norms and cultural practices greatly influence Nepal's labor force (Timilsina, Sawangdee, Hunchangsith, & Rittirong, 2019). For example, due to the high international migration of Nepalese men, many women engage in livestock and agriculture (Sijapati, Bhattarai, & Pathak, 2015).…”

Breastfeeding and Female Labor Force Participation; The Probability of Survival of Children Under- 3 years in Nepal

“…The Cox hazard analysis was conducted between dependent and independent variables as the preferred analysis to conclude the study. Cox hazard was preferred it take into consideration both risk to death under 3 years of age of children when concentrating on time in each month (Timilsina et al, 2019). The time variation here is measured by the current age of the child in months (months since birth for dead children).…”

“…Dependent variables of the study were chosen based on the fact that Nepal is developing country with high child mortality it ranks 67 th from below among 225 countries published by world fact book in 2017. Nepal also has very high child mortality if compared to its neighbor countries such as Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka and signi cantly higher if compared to developed countries like the USA, Singapore, UK (Timilsina et al, 2019).…”