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Early childhood stunting and later life outcomes: A longitudinal analysis

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  • Deshpande, Ashwini
  • Ramachandran, Rajesh

Abstract

Using longitudinal data from four countries–Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam– we show that early childhood stunting is highly persistent as measured by the association between stunting status in early childhood and stunting status at age 15. Stunting in early childhood is associated with lower grade completion by age 22 and has a negative relationship with cognition as measured by math, language and reading scores at ages 8, 12 and 15. Stunting in early childhood is also associated with poorer subjective assessment of a child’s health at age 15. Analyzing determinants, we show that lack of preventive care and economic shocks are associated with an increase in the probability of stunting in early childhood.

Suggested Citation

  • Deshpande, Ashwini & Ramachandran, Rajesh, 2022. "Early childhood stunting and later life outcomes: A longitudinal analysis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:44:y:2022:i:c:s1570677x21001246
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2021.101099
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    Cited by:

    1. von Grafenstein, Liza & Klasen, Stephan & Hoddinott, John, 2023. "The Indian Enigma revisited," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Chronic malnutrition; Economic shocks; Health inputs; Human capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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