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Adult height and childhood disease

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Author Info

  • Carlos Bozzoli

    (DIW - Berlin (German Institute for Economic Research))

  • Angus Deaton

    (Princeton University)

  • Climent Quintana-Domeque

    (Universidad de Alicante)

Abstract

Taller populations are typically richer populations, and taller individuals live longer and earn more In consequence, adult height has recently become a focus in understanding the relationship between health and wealth. We investigate the childhood determinants of population adult height, focusing on the respective roles of income and of disease. Across a range of European countries and the United States, we find a strong inverse relationship between postneonatal (one month to one year) mortality, interpreted as a measure of the disease and nutritional burden in childhood, and the mean height of those children as adults. Consistent with these findings, we develop a model of selection and stunting, in which the early life burden of nutrition and disease is not only responsible for mortality in childhood but also leaves a residue of long-term health risks for survivors, risks that express themselves in adult height, as well as in late-life disease. The model predicts that, at sufficiently high mortality levels, selection can dominate scarring, leaving a taller population of survivors. We find evidence of this effect in the poorest and highest mortality countries of the world, supplementing recent findings on the effects of the Great Chinese famine.

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File URL: http://rpds.princeton.edu/rpds/papers/pdfs/Adult_height_and_childhood_disease_ALLPARTS_102308.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies. in its series Working Papers with number 1119.

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Date of creation: Oct 2008
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Handle: RePEc:pri:rpdevs:1119

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Keywords: Height; childhood disease; wealth; health; Great Chinese famine;

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