Maternal Labor Force Participation and Multidimensional Child Poverty in Least-Developed Countries in Southeast Asia

Child poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon, and maternal labor force participation may mitigate children's poverty status. This study explores the effects of maternal labor force participation on multidimensional poverty among children under five years of age in three Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste. Using Demographic and Health Survey datasets, the estimated results of coarsened exact matching revealed that maternal labor force participation significantly reduced the number of deprivation dimensions and the probability of being in severe multidimensional poverty. The impacts on multidimensional child poverty are insignificant between all years of employment and the seasonal/occasional employment status of mothers.