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A Bit of Salt a Trace of Life - Gender Norms and The Impact of a Salt Iodization Program on Human Capital Formation of School Aged Children

Author

Listed:
  • Zichen Deng

    (Norwegian School of Economics)

  • Maarten Lindeboom

    (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of a massive salt iodization program on human capital formation of school-aged children in China. Exploiting province and time variation, we find a strong positive impact on cognition for girls and no effects for boys. For non-cognitive skills, we find the opposite. We show in a simple model of parental investment that gender preferences can explain our findings. Analyses exploiting within the province, village-level variation in gender attitudes confirm the importance of parental gender preferences. Consequently, large scale programs can have positive (and possibly) unintended effects on gender equality in societies with son preference.

Suggested Citation

  • Zichen Deng & Maarten Lindeboom, 2020. "A Bit of Salt a Trace of Life - Gender Norms and The Impact of a Salt Iodization Program on Human Capital Formation of School Aged Children," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 20-067/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20200067
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Iodine; parental investments; gender attitudes; cognitive skills; non-cognitive skills;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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