1. 1 ESRC Pathfinder Project Women's Autonomy and the Nutritional Status of Children Wiji Arulampalam (Warwick), Nisha Srivastava (University of Allahabad, India) and Anjor Bhaskar (IFPRI,India) November 2009

2. 2 Motivation (1) Issues: Nearly half the country’s children remaining undernourished in India (NFHS 3). –46% children under 3 years of age are underweight: – 38% are too short in relation to their height; –19% are wasted. There are stark differences between social groups, rural and urban areas and economic status.

3. 3 Motivation (2) Poor nutrition causes irreversible damage to cognitive development and future health. Increases the probability of childhood mortality. Damage suffered in early life can lead to permanent impairment, and might also affect future generations. Benefits: Its prevention can bring about important health, educational, and economic benefits.

4. 4 What is Female Autonomy? Women's status/autonomy: women's power relative to men's. ‘Autonomy’ reflects ‘the extent to which the mother can influence her external circumstances in order to affect economic decisions taken by the household’.

5. 5 Pathways Women are considered as caregivers in most societies. They bear the primary responsibility for the child’s health and survival. Women who have little autonomy in the control over resources (including time and income) within households are likely to have –lower status within the family; –less likely to be exposed to new health and nutrition knowledge due to restricted mobility and interaction.

6. 6 The Data (1) Indian NFHS (National Family Health Survey – part of Demographic Health Surveys) 1992/93 & 1998/99 & 2005/06 Will use the third round NFHS 3

7. Survey was conducted in 29 Indian states Detailed health and anthropometric information on –111,781 women aged 15-54 –70,130 men aged 15-54 –46,655 children born in the last five years preceding the survey. 7 The Data (2)

8. The Data (3) NFHS elicited responses to certain questions that may be interpreted as providing information on different aspects of autonomy enjoyed by the woman. 8 The Data (3)