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Migration and the overweight and underweight status of children in rural China

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  • de Brauw, Alan
  • Mu, Ren

Abstract

The rapid economic growth in China is accompanied by a large scale rural-to-urban migration, but over time more children are left behind rural areas. This paper studies how the overweight and underweight status of the rural children is associated with the out migration of others in their household. We find that migration is related to different nutritional outcomes for the left-behind children. The older children (aged 7-12) are more likely to be underweight; the younger (aged 2-6) are less likely to be overweight if left behind without the care of a grandparent. We also find evidence that the remaining adult household members spent less time preparing meals, whereas older children take up more household chores.

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Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Food Policy.

Volume (Year): 36 (2011)
Issue (Month): 1 (February)
Pages: 88-100

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Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:36:y:2011:i:1:p:88-100
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/foodpol

Keywords: Migration Children Overweight Underweight Rural China;

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  1. Du, Shufa & Mroz, Tom A. & Zhai, Fengying & Popkin, Barry M., 2004. "Rapid income growth adversely affects diet quality in China--particularly for the poor!," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(7), pages 1505-1515, October.
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Cited by:

  1. You, Jing, 2013. "The role of microcredit in older children’s nutrition: Quasi-experimental evidence from rural China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 167-179.
  2. Carletto, Calogero & Covarrubias, Katia & Maluccio, John A., 2011. "Migration and child growth in rural Guatemala," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 16-27, February.
  3. Carletto, Calogero & Larrison, Jennica & Ozden, Caglar, 2014. "Informing migration policies : a data primer," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7082, The World Bank.
  4. Loh, Chung-Ping A. & Li, Qiang, 2013. "Peer effects in adolescent bodyweight: Evidence from rural China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 35-44.

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