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Fasting During Pregnancy and Children's Academic Performance

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  • Douglas Almond
  • Bhashkar Mazumder
  • Reyn van Ewijk

Abstract

We consider the effects of daytime fasting by pregnant women during the lunar month of Ramadan on their children's test scores at age seven. Using English register data, we find that scores are .05 to .08 standard deviations lower for Pakistani and Bangladeshi students exposed to Ramadan in early pregnancy. These estimates are downward biased to the extent that Ramadan is not universally observed. We conclude that the effects of prenatal investments on test scores are comparable to many conventional educational interventions but are likely to be more cost effective and less subject to "fade out".

Suggested Citation

  • Douglas Almond & Bhashkar Mazumder & Reyn van Ewijk, 2012. "Fasting During Pregnancy and Children's Academic Performance," CEE Discussion Papers 0134, Centre for the Economics of Education, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:ceedps:0134
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pregnant women should not fast during Ramadan
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2012-01-20 20:48:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Douglas Almond & Janet Currie & Valentina Duque, 2018. "Childhood Circumstances and Adult Outcomes: Act II," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1360-1446, December.
    2. Chen, Xi & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2017. "Costly Posturing: Ceremonies and Early Child Development in China," IZA Discussion Papers 10662, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Seyed Mohammad Karimi, 2018. "Pre – Birth Exposure to Ramadan, Height, and the Length of Gastation," Working Papers 1236, Economic Research Forum, revised 10 Oct 2018.
    4. Schultz-Nielsen, Marie Louise & Tekin, Erdal & Greve, Jane, 2016. "Labor market effects of intrauterine exposure to nutritional deficiency: Evidence from administrative data on Muslim immigrants in Denmark," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 196-209.
    5. Chen, Xi, 2014. "Fetus, Fasting, and Festival: The Persistent Effects of in Utero Social Shocks," IZA Discussion Papers 8494, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Jing Li & William H. Dow & Luis Rosero-Bixby, 2017. "Education Gains Attributable to Fertility Decline: Patterns by Gender, Period, and Country in Latin America and Asia," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(4), pages 1353-1373, August.
    7. Richter, André & Robling, Per Olof, 2013. "Multigenerational e ffects of the 1918-19 influenza pandemic in Sweden," Working Paper Series 5/2013, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    8. Averett, Susan L. & Fletcher, Erin K., 2015. "The Relationship between Maternal Pre-Pregnancy BMI and Preschool Obesity," IZA Discussion Papers 9608, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    educational outcomes; pregnancy; fasting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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