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...

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...

The proportions of girls marrying or having children before the age of 18 have been declining in Uganda according to data from the latest publicly available Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) implemented in 2011. Yet despite progress, more than one third of girls still marry as children, and...

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...

Despite a slight increase in female labor participation between 2012 and 2013, employment rates in Serbia stood at 40.1 percent for women in 2013, almost 15 percentage points below employment rates for men (at 54.9 percent). International evidence shows that support for childcare and eldercare...

This note examines the provision of childcare and eldercare in Kosovo with an emphasis on the availability, price, and quality of care, and suggests policy priorities that address the identified challenges. The analysis in this note is based on a study aimed at exploring childcare and eldercare...

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...