Thirty-Five Years Later: Evaluating Effects of a Quasi-Random Child Health and Family Planning Programme in Bangladesh

This project examines the effects of the Matlab Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning (MCH-FP) program that started in 1977, 35 years later. Treatment and comparison areas were built into the design of the program. The program was phased-in over time starting with family planning and maternal health. Measles vaccination began in 1982 and other child health interventions were included in 1986 (e.g. other vaccinations and vitamin A supplementation). Similar interventions were introduced in the comparison area in the late 1980s providing approximately a 10-year experiment period to evaluate the program. The study takes advantage of the quasi-experimental design and the phasing-out of the program over time to examine the effect of the program on those who were born during the experimental period on their cognitive functioning and height in adulthood. To limit selection bias that is common in panel studies, the study design paid special attention to reducing panel attrition by extensive tracking of migrants to be surveyed.