Prior to the YouCDF, research on women’s bargaining power within households and its implications for investments in children primarily focused on developing countries, particularly in Africa or agricultural economies. In the European context, existing studies had mostly examined household bargaining power in relation to spouses’ labour supply and household decision-making, but not in connection with maternal investment in child health and well-being. Moreover, there was a growing need to understand these dynamics in Europe, given the demographic and social changes associated with migration from conflict-affected regions in the Middle East and Africa.
The YouCDF project advances the state of the art by providing the first systematic and empirically grounded analysis of the relationship between parental resources, maternal bargaining power, and child health outcomes in a setting with UHC. By combining theoretical modelling and advanced econometric methods, YouCDF identifies the causal pathways through which household-level constraints interact with public healthcare systems to influence early-life outcomes.
The first set of results uses fertility as an instrument for women’s bargaining power within the household. Contrary to findings from developing-country settings, the results show no significant increase in untreated child health problems when the number of children increases. This suggests that UHC may mitigate the negative effects of reduced maternal bargaining power on access to child healthcare. This finding provides new evidence from a European context, highlighting the equalizing potential of comprehensive healthcare systems.
The second set of results demonstrates that increases in the minimum wage during pregnancy improve birth outcomes, even in the presence of UHC. A 30% increase in the minimum wage led to higher birth weights and better prenatal care utilization, without causing job losses among expectant mothers. The positive effects are most pronounced among urban, older, and more educated women, groups more likely to benefit from formal employment. This evidence introduces a novel welfare channel of minimum wage policies, demonstrating that income gains can improve child health by strengthening women’s bargaining position and facilitating better health investments.
The third set of findings examines unconditional cash and in-kind transfers to low-income families as another mechanism for altering intra-household resource allocation. These transfers were associated with improvements in children’s welfare, particularly through reductions in child labor and domestic work among girls, as well as enhanced emotional well-being among boys. While no direct effects on physical health were observed, these results demonstrate that income support policies can reduce non-market work burdens on children.
Together, these findings extend the frontier of knowledge on how public policies that affect household income and women’s bargaining power translate into better child outcomes, even in contexts where UHC is already in place. The YouCDF project thus bridges the gap between development economics and European social policy research, generating policy-relevant evidence on how redistributive policies—such as minimum wage regulations and cash transfers—can reinforce the goals of universal healthcare and promote equitable child development.
