Since the 1990s, India has seen robust economic growth, rising wages, steady fertility decline, increased urbanization, and expanded educational attainment for males and females. But unlike other countries that have undergone similar transitions, urban women's employment has refused to budge,...

Little literature currently exists on the effects of childcare use on maternal labor market outcomes in a developing country context, and recent studies offer mixed results. This paper attempts to fill these gaps by analyzing several of the latest rounds of the Vietnam Household Living Standards...

At 50.9 percent, female labor force participation in Indonesia is far below the regional average of 60.8 percent. Is it being hindered by a lack of affordable childcare services in the country? This paper exploits the joint variations in preschool age eligibility and access to preschool across...

The relationship between the length of paid maternity leave and the proportion of female workers in the private sector is explored using firm-level survey data for 66 mostly developing countries. The paper finds a large, positive, and statistically significant relationship between the two....

Lao PDR has made notable progress in improving maternal health, with materanal mortality decreasing from 1,600 per 100,000 births in 1990 to 220 in 2013.1 However, in order for further gains to be realized, at least two barriers need to be addressed - the low utilization of maternal health (MH)...

Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, notes that we stand at a critical threshold for global health and development. Too many women and children are still dying because they lack access to quality health care, especially in the least developed countries. He talks about shifting focus...

Labor market engagement of women is very low in Kosovo - only 12.5 percent of women of working age are employed compared to 41.3 percent of men - suggesting that women face obstacles to work and or being hired. These barriers can be related to a multiplicity of factors, including labor...

Every six hours, the death of a woman from the complications of pregnancy serves as the most vexing reminder of Indonesia's challenges with maternal health (MH). This is incommensurate with Indonesia's strong economic development and stature compared with regional peers, especially as MH is a...

This document offers a useful background for NGOs or organizations working to deliver culturally appropriate maternal health services or interventions through comadronas (midwives) in Solola, Guatemala or the surrounding region. To this end, the information contained herein focuses on...

The objective of this research is to identify the main social and cultural constraints in accessing reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health Services (RMNCHS) in Guinea-Bissau, to effectively improve their access and use by women and children. Additionally, the research also explores...