The Growth of Poor Children in China 1991-2000: Why Food Subsidies May Matter

Between 1991 and 2000, both average incomes and income inequality grew rapidly in China. Although the average measurable health status of Chinese children also improved dramatically, changes in average health status may mask differential impacts within the distribution of health status. Using the China Health and Nutrition Survey1 (CHNS) data for 1991, 1993, 1997 and 2000 on 4,400 households in 9 provinces, this paper examines the height-for-age of Chinese children aged 2 to 13, with particular emphasis on the growth of children living in poor households. It uses mean regression and quantile regression models to isolate the dynamic impact of poverty status and food coupon use on child height-for-age. Our principal findings are: (1) controlling for standard variables (e.g., parents’ weight, height and education) poverty is correlated with slower growth in height between 1997 and 2000 but not earlier; (2) in 2000, poverty primarily reduces the likelihood of strong growth in height- for-age; (3) food coupon use in earlier periods increases growth in height-for-age. The disappearance in the 1990s of subsidized food coupons in China has increased the importance of money income poverty in enabling consumption of basic foods by poor families. The general moral is the crucial social protection role that subsidized food programs can potentially play in maintaining the health of poor children.