This study will investigate the role of women's bargaining power (intra-household power dynamics) in shaping access to resources and children's health in Tanzania. The researcher will test two competing hypotheses concerning the factors that influence women's marital bargaining power in a rural community. The study is based on previous research that argues that where women have greater bargaining power (and thus access to resources), child health improves. Using behavioral ecology theory, the research will examine how women's bargaining power shapes maternal work efforts, paternal contributions to the household, and ultimately child health. Methods include a village survey, demographic analysis, time allocation studies, and structured interviews with samples of the population. This study contributes to debates in economics and anthropology concerning how individuals in households, particularly less powerful members such as women and children, achieve and utilize bargaining power to access resources (and thus health).
