How does schooling of mothers improve child health? Evidence from Morocco

Mothers' education is often found to be positively correlated with child health and nutrition in developing countries, yet the causal mechanisms are poorly understood. Three possible mechanisms are: 1) formal education directly teaches health knowledge to future mothers; 2) literacy and numeracy skills acquired in school assist future mothers in diagnosing and treating child health problems; and 3) exposure to modern society from formal schooling makes women more receptive in modern medical treatments. Uses data from Morocco to assess the role played by these different mechanisms which suggests that teaching of health knowledge skills in Moroccan schools could substantially raise child health and nutrition.