Peer-reviewed article

Mother’s Education and Child Nutrition: Evidence of Intergenerational Effect from a School Cycle Program, India

Nisha Mishra, Sukumar Vellakkal · 28 Jul 2026

Abstract

We study the intergenerational effect, channelled through mothers’ education, of a school-cycle program targeting girls enrolled in Class Nine on child nutrition outcomes in the Indian state of Bihar. Utilising nationally representative individual-level data, our difference-in-difference estimates show that the nutritional status of children whose mothers were exposed to the program has improved significantly. Children of treated mothers are 1.7 and 0.9 percentage points less likely to be stunted and underweight, respectively. Under tighter model specifications, the reduction in stunting remains statistically significant, while the reduction in underweight is smaller. The observed positive effects are plausibly driven by increased maternal education, higher income, declining fertility, longer birth intervals, greater media exposure, and improved access to maternal and child health services. The heterogeneity analysis indicates that the effects are larger among children from upper castes.