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Abstract

Household shocks are among the factors that deteriorate women's self-reported health (SRH). Accordingly, we analyse the effects of household shocks on women’s self-reported health using a sample of 4,958 women aged 18 years and above from waves 4 (2014/2015) and 5 (2020/2021) of the Tanzania National Panel Survey. We employ a correlated random-effects (CRE) ordered probit model to control for unobserved heterogeneity in an ordered outcome. We find that aggregate shocks increase the likelihood of reporting poor health by 0.6 percentage points while simultaneously reducing the probability of reporting better health by 1.9 percentage points. Moreover, women experiencing economic shocks are 1.1 percentage points more likely to report poor health and 3.8 percentage points less likely to report better health. Women from wealthier households are more likely to report better health, while women from larger households are more likely to report poor health. Finally, women who frequently visit healthcare facilities are less likely to report poor health. Living in rural areas also increases the likelihood that women report poor health. The findings remain robust to alternative estimation techniques. The study contributes to the literature by examining women’s self-reported health, a less-studied outcome, and by using both aggregated and disaggregated shocks to show their association with self-reported health.

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