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Food Affordability and Double Catastrophe in Early Life: Lessons from the 1974–75 Bangladesh Famine

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  • Nourin Shabnam
  • Mehmet A. Ulubaşoğlu
  • Cahit Guven

Abstract

We study the educational outcomes of the 1974–75 Bangladesh famine among early life survivors using the 1991 Bangladesh micro‐census data. We find that famine adversely affected survivor children in areas that experienced higher rice prices relative to labour wages. However, children living in wealthy households in famine‐stricken areas escaped the adverse effects and had similar educational outcomes as those with no famine exposure. We also find that, surprisingly, exposure to a double catastrophe (i.e., concurrent famine and flood) in early life had weaker effects on survivor children's education than exposure to a single catastrophe. We show that disaster‐alleviation mechanisms were more effective in districts affected by double disasters.

Suggested Citation

  • Nourin Shabnam & Mehmet A. Ulubaşoğlu & Cahit Guven, 2022. "Food Affordability and Double Catastrophe in Early Life: Lessons from the 1974–75 Bangladesh Famine," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 98(S1), pages 24-51, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:98:y:2022:i:s1:p:24-51
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-4932.12668
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