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A Bit of Salt, a Trace of Life: Gender Norms and the Impact of a Salt Iodization Program on Human Capital Formation of School Aged Children

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  • Deng, Zichen

    (Norwegian School of Economics)

  • Lindeboom, Maarten

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of a massive salt iodization program on human capital formation of school-aged children in China. Exploiting province and time variation we find strong positive effects on cognition for girls and no effects for boys. For non-cognitive skills we find the opposite. We show in a simple model of parental investment that gender preferences can explain our findings. Analyses exploiting within province, village level variation in gender attitudes confirm the importance of parental gender preferences. Consequently, large scale programs can have positive (and possibly) unintended effects on gender equality in societies where boy preferences are important.

Suggested Citation

  • Deng, Zichen & Lindeboom, Maarten, 2019. "A Bit of Salt, a Trace of Life: Gender Norms and the Impact of a Salt Iodization Program on Human Capital Formation of School Aged Children," IZA Discussion Papers 12629, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12629
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Tafesse, Wiktoria, 2022. "The effect of Universal Salt Iodization on cognitive test scores in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    2. Araújo, Daniel & Carrillo, Bladimir & Sampaio, Breno, 2021. "The Long-Run Economic Consequences of Iodine Supplementation," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    iodine; parental investments; gender attitudes; cognitive skills; non-cognitive skills;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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