IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/umapmt/261505.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Food Prices and Cognitive Development in the United States: Evidence from the 1850-1930 Data

Author

Listed:
  • Zhou, Qingtian

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of food prices on children’s cognitive development by exploiting historical price and census data in the mid to late 19th century and early 20th century United States. I explicitly model the relationships among food prices, nutrition, and cognitive development for both non-farm and farm households and use the model to motivate my empirical strategy. My empirical results confirm that there exist statistically significant differences between the two types of households in terms of the partial effects of food prices on children’s cognitive development. Using the preferred specification of this paper, I find that on average, a 1% increase in food price level reduces children’s probability of literacy by 0.44% for non-farm households and 0.37% for farm households; the average food price effect for farm households is 5/6 of that for non-farm households, after controlling for nonfood prices, household wages, demographic characteristics, household environments, and agricultural production inputs. These results send an important message to policymakers who want to address childhood nutrition and cognitive skill issues in developing countries—policy prescriptions need to take the population composition into consideration.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhou, Qingtian, 2017. "Food Prices and Cognitive Development in the United States: Evidence from the 1850-1930 Data," Master's Theses and Plan B Papers 261505, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:umapmt:261505
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.261505
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/261505/files/ZhouQingtian_Plan_B2017.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/261505/files/ZhouQingtian_Plan_B2017.pdf?subformat=pdfa
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.261505?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Harold Alderman & John Hoddinott & Bill Kinsey, 2006. "Long term consequences of early childhood malnutrition," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(3), pages 450-474, July.
    2. Ethel D. Hoover, 1960. "Retail Prices after 1850," NBER Chapters, in: Trends in the American Economy in the Nineteenth Century, pages 141, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Jorg Baten & Dorothee Crayen & Hans-Joachim Voth, 2014. "Numeracy and the Impact of High Food Prices in Industrializing Britain, 1780–1850," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(3), pages 418-430, July.
    4. Bellemare, Marc F. & Fajardo-Gonzalez, Johanna & Gitter, Seth R., 2018. "Foods and fads: The welfare impacts of rising quinoa prices in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 163-179.
    5. A'Hearn, Brian & Baten, Jörg & Crayen, Dorothee, 2009. "Quantifying Quantitative Literacy: Age Heaping and the History of Human Capital," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 69(3), pages 783-808, September.
    6. Ampaabeng, Samuel K. & Tan, Chih Ming, 2013. "The long-term cognitive consequences of early childhood malnutrition: The case of famine in Ghana," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1013-1027.
    7. Brian A'Hearn & Alexia Delfino & Alessandro Nuvolari, 2022. "Rethinking age heaping: a cautionary tale from nineteenth‐century Italy," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(1), pages 111-137, February.
    8. The Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, 1960. "Trends in the American Economy in the Nineteenth Century," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number unkn60-1, March.
    9. Brian A'Hearn & Alexia Delfino, 2016. "Rethinking Age-heaping, a Cautionary Tale From Nineteenth Century Italy," Economics Series Working Papers Paper 148, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    10. Glewwe, Paul & Jacoby, Hanan G. & King, Elizabeth M., 2001. "Early childhood nutrition and academic achievement: a longitudinal analysis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 345-368, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nuvolari, Alessandro & A'Hearn, Brian & Delfino, Alexia, 2019. "Cognition, Culture, and State Capacity: Age-Heaping in XIX Century Italy," CEPR Discussion Papers 14261, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Giovanni Campisi & Silvia Muzzioli, 2019. "Construction and properties of volatility indices for Austria, Finland and Spain," Department of Economics 0156, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    3. Dana Glei & Andres Barajas Paz & Jose Manuel Aburto & Magali Barbieri, 2021. "Mexican mortality 1990‒2016: Comparison of unadjusted and adjusted estimates," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(30), pages 719-758.
    4. Beltrán Tapia, Francisco J. & Díez-Minguela, Alfonso & Martinez-Galarraga, Julio & Tirado-Fabregat, Daniel A., 2022. "Two Stories, One Fate: Age-Heaping And Literacy In Spain, 1877-1930," Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(3), pages 405-438, December.
    5. Bertocchi, Graziella & Bozzano, Monica, 2019. "Gender Gaps in Education," GLO Discussion Paper Series 415, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Nourin Shabnam & Mehmet A. Ulubaşoğlu & Cahit Guven, 2022. "Food Affordability and Double Catastrophe in Early Life: Lessons from the 1974–75 Bangladesh Famine," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 98(S1), pages 24-51, September.
    7. Shabnam, Nourin & Guven, Cahit & Ulubasoglu, Mehmet, 2021. "Lack of Food Access and Double Catastrophe in Early Life: Lessons from the 1974–1975 Bangladesh Famine," MPRA Paper 109653, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Graziella Bertocchi & Monica Bozzano, 2019. "Gender gaps in education," Department of Economics 0158, University of Modena and Reggio E., Faculty of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    9. Aramide Kazeem & John M. Musalia, 2018. "The Implication of Early Childhood Malnutrition for Age of Entry into Primary School in Nigeria," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 11(4), pages 1337-1368, August.
    10. Yanrong Liu & Xuecun Zhao, 2022. "Does Food Insecurity in Early Life Make People More Depressed?—Evidence from CHARLS," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-14, June.
    11. Robert D. Osei & Monica P. Lambon-Quayefio, 2022. "Effects of Long-Term Malnutrition on Education Outcomes in Ghana: Evidence from a Panel Study," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(1), pages 1-21, February.
    12. Matthias Blum & Karl‐Peter Krauss & Dmytro Myeshkov, 2022. "Human capital transfer of German‐speaking migrants in eastern Europe, 1780s–1820s," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 703-738, August.
    13. Èric Gómez-i-Aznar, 2019. "Human capital at the beginnings of the 18th century Catalonia: age-heaping and numeracy in a changing economy," Documentos de Trabajo (DT-AEHE) 1904, Asociación Española de Historia Económica.
    14. Fujii, Tomoki & Shonchoy, Abu S. & Xu, Sijia, 2018. "Impact of Electrification on Children’s Nutritional Status in Rural Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 315-330.
    15. Jere R. Behrman & John Hoddinott & John A. Maluccio, & Erica Soler-Hampejsek & Emily L. Behrman & Reynaldo Martorell & Manuel Ramirez-Zea & Aryeh D. Stein, 2006. "What Determines Adult Cognitive Skills? Impacts of Pre-Schooling, Schooling and Post-Schooling Experiences in Guatemala," PIER Working Paper Archive 06-027, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    16. Mariapia Mendola & Mengesha Yayo Negasi, 2019. "Nutritional and Schooling Impact of a Cash Transfer Program in Ethiopia: A Retrospective Analysis of Childhood Experience," Development Working Papers 451, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    17. James, John A. & Skinner, Jonathan S., 1985. "The Resolution of the Labor-Scarcity Paradox," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(3), pages 513-540, September.
    18. Thuan Q. Thai & Evangelos M. Falaris, 2014. "Child Schooling, Child Health, and Rainfall Shocks: Evidence from Rural Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(7), pages 1025-1037, July.
    19. Calderón, María Cecilia & Hoddinott, John, 2011. "The Inter-Generational Transmission of Cognitive Abilities in Guatemala," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 3105, Inter-American Development Bank.
    20. Brian A'Hearn & Alexia Delfino & Alessandro Nuvolari, 2022. "Rethinking age heaping: a cautionary tale from nineteenth‐century Italy," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(1), pages 111-137, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Food Security and Poverty;

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:umapmt:261505. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/daumnus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.