Long-term consequences of early childhood malnutrition

This paper examines the impact of preschool malnutrition on subsequent human capital formation in rural Zimbabwe using a maternal fixed effects-instrumental variables (MFE-IV) estimator with a long-term panel data set. Representations of civil war and drought 'shocks' are used to identify difference...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Alderman, Harold, Hoddinott, John F., Kinsey, Bill
Formato: Artículo preliminar
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Food Policy Research Institute 2003
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/155653
Descripción
Sumario:This paper examines the impact of preschool malnutrition on subsequent human capital formation in rural Zimbabwe using a maternal fixed effects-instrumental variables (MFE-IV) estimator with a long-term panel data set. Representations of civil war and drought 'shocks' are used to identify differences in preschool nutritional status across siblings. Improvements in height-for-age in preschoolers are associated with increased height as a young adult and number of grades of schooling completed. Had the median preschool child in this sample had the stature of a median child in a developed country, by adolescence, she would be 4.6 centimeters taller and would have completed an additional 0.7 grades of schooling