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Food for Thought: Basic Needs and Persistent Educational Inequality

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Listed:
  • Oded Galor

    (Brown University & Hebrew University)

  • David Mayer-Foulkes

    (Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas CIDE)

Abstract

This research demonstrates that human capital accumulation by the poor is only possible if a minimum level of health and well-being has been attained. When families do not have enough resources to invest in the satisfaction of basic needs and health care, and finance is not available for this purpose, a poverty trap exists with low health, education and income. These poverty traps may persist if policies financing education are applied which do not also address deficiencies in nutrition and health impairing human potential, and in particular early child development. This link between health and education contributes to explain the important, long-term effects of nutrition and health on economic growth and implies that nutrition and health play a causal role in the persistence of inequality and in the effects of inequality on growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Oded Galor & David Mayer-Foulkes, 2004. "Food for Thought: Basic Needs and Persistent Educational Inequality," GE, Growth, Math methods 0410002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpge:0410002
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    Cited by:

    1. Carlos Larrea & Pedro Montalvo & Ana María Ricaurte, 2005. "Child Malnutrition, Social Development and Health Services in the Andean Region," Research Department Publications 3189, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    2. Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis, 2017. "Fighting Poverty And Child Malnutrition: On The Design Of Foreign Aid Policies," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(8), pages 1935-1956, December.
    3. Jayanta Sarkar & Dipanwita Sarkar, 2016. "Why Does Child Labor Persist With Declining Poverty?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(1), pages 139-158, January.
    4. Agenor, Pierre-Richard & Moreno-Dodson, Blanca, 2006. "Public infrastructure and growth : new channels and policy implications," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4064, The World Bank.
    5. Pierre-Richard Agénor, 2015. "Public capital, health persistence and poverty traps," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 115(2), pages 103-131, June.
    6. Amparo Castelló-Climent, 2010. "Channels through Which Human Capital Inequality Influences Economic Growth," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(4), pages 394-450.
    7. Nora Lustig, 2006. "Investing in Health for Economic Development: The Case of Mexico," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2006-30, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Shankha Chakraborty & Mausumi Das, 2005. "Mortality, Human Capital and Persistent Inequality," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 159-192, June.
    9. Olivier Morand, 2004. "Economic growth, longevity and the epidemiological transition," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 5(2), pages 166-174, May.
    10. Carlos Larrea & Pedro Montalvo & Ana María Ricaurte, 2005. "Desnutrición infantil, desarrollo social y servicios médicos en la región andina," Research Department Publications 3190, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    11. Ziv Chinzara & Radhika Lahiri, 2012. "Economic growth and inequality patterns in the presence of costly technology adoption and uncertainty," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 280, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology.
    12. Pierre‐Richard Agénor & Kyriakos C. Neanidis, 2011. "The Allocation Of Public Expenditure And Economic Growth," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 79(4), pages 899-931, July.
    13. Erkan Erdil & I. Hakan Yetkiner, 2009. "The Granger-causality between health care expenditure and output: a panel data approach," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 511-518.
    14. Francesco Ricci & Marios Zachariadis, 2006. "Determinants of Public Health Outcomes: A Macroeconomic Perspective," DEGIT Conference Papers c011_045, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    15. Pierre‐Richard Agénor, 2005. "The Macroeconomics Of Poverty Reduction," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 73(4), pages 369-434, July.
    16. Ziv Chinzara & Radhika Lahiri, 2012. "Financial Intermediation and Costly Technology Adoption under Uncertainty: A Political Economy Perspective," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 295, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology.
    17. David Mayer Foulkes, 2005. "Institutions and Long-Term Development Policy," Working papers DTE 328, CIDE, División de Economía.
    18. Alan Martina, 2007. "A Class of Poverty Traps: A Theory and Empirical Tests," ANU Working Papers in Economics and Econometrics 2007-482, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics.
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    Keywords

    Health; Human Capital; Growth; Credit constraints;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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