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The Impact of Positive and Negative Income Changes on the Height and Weight of Young Children

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  • Thomas Buser
  • Hessel Oosterbeek
  • Erik Plug
  • Juan Ponce
  • José Rosero

Abstract

We estimate the impact of changes in unearned income on the height and weight of young children in a developing country. As a source of income variation we use a change in the eligibility criteria for receipt of an unconditional cash transfer in Ecuador. Two years after families lost the transfer, which they had received for seven years, their young children weigh less and are shorter and more likely to be stunted than young children in families that kept the cash transfer. We find no statistically significant effect on young children's height and weight two years after gaining the cash transfer. Information on household expenditures suggests that a reduction of food expenditures by households that lost the transfer is the main mechanism behind this finding.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Buser & Hessel Oosterbeek & Erik Plug & Juan Ponce & José Rosero, 2017. "The Impact of Positive and Negative Income Changes on the Height and Weight of Young Children," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 31(3), pages 786-808.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:31:y:2017:i:3:p:786-808.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wber/lhw004
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    2. María Gabriela Palacio Ludeña, 2021. "Falling through the Cracks: Digital Infrastructures of Social Protection in Ecuador," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 52(4), pages 805-828, July.
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    5. H. Xavier Jara & María Gabriela Palacio Ludeña, 2024. "Rethinking social assistance amid the COVID‐19 pandemic: Guaranteeing the right to income security in Ecuador," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(3), pages 1738-1764, April.
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    JEL classification:

    • C31 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions; Social Interaction Models
    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

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