“United we stand divided we fall”: maternal social participation and children’s nutritional status in Peru

Abstract

In previous literature, social capital has been hypothesized_x000D_ as a substitute for other forms of capital, such as physical_x000D_ and human capital. This paper contributes to this_x000D_ literature, studying the association between mothers’_x000D_ access to social capital via participation in community_x000D_ organizations and their children’s nutritional status at 1_x000D_ and 5 years. Using the Peruvian sample of the Young Lives project, this study suggests that, where human capital is_x000D_ scarce, social capital might have important implications_x000D_ for child development. Maternal social capital is_x000D_ positively associated with height at 1 year old for those_x000D_ children whose mothers have no formal education. No_x000D_ significant association is found at 5 years of age.