Heckman: Developmental Origins of health

Concise overview in latest edition of Health Economics of the developmental origins of health by James Heckman

Hatton and Martin - Poverty and Stature for British Children in the 1930s

The effects on stature of poverty, family size, and birth order: British children in the 1930s

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Author Info

Timothy J. Hatton
Richard M. Martin
Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

• Timothy James Hatton

Abstract

This article examines the effects of socio-economic conditions on the standardized heights and body mass index (BMI) of children in Interwar Britain, using the Boyd Orr cohort, a survey of predominantly poor families taken in 1937--9. We examine the trade-off between child quality (in the form of health outcomes) and the number of children in the family. We find that birth order and family size have negative effects on the heights of children, but not on their BMI. Household income per capita positively influences height but, even after accounting for this, the number of children in the family has a negative effect on height. This latter effect is closely associated with overcrowding and with the degree of cleanliness or hygiene in the household, which conditions exposure to factors predisposing to disease. We also analyse follow-up data, which indicates that the effects of family size on height persisted into adulthood. Copyright 2010 Oxford University Press 2009 All rights reserved, Oxford University Press.

Becker's Quantity/Quality Model and Child Health

Is the Quantity-Quality Trade-off a Trade-off for All, None, or Some?
(Daniel L. Millimet & Le Wang)

Abstract:

Although the theoretical trade-off between the quantity and quality of children is well-established, empirical evidence supporting such a causal relationship − particularly on child health − is limited. We use two measures of child health to asses the quantity-quality trade-off across the entire distribution. Using data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey and controlling for the potential endogeneity of child quantity, we find evidence of a causal trade-off only for some and only in the short-run.

http://ftp.iza.org/dp4078.pdf

Toxic Waste and Infant Health

Janet Currie and Johannes F. Schmieder have a new NBER working paper: "Fetal Exposure to Toxic Releases and Infant Health" (abstract below). Professor Currie will be visiting Geary in the new year; details below.

NBER Abstract:

Every year, millions of pounds of toxic chemicals thought to be linked to developmental problems in fetuses and young children are released into the air. In this paper we estimate the effect of these releases on the health of newborns. Using data from the Toxic Release Inventory Program and Vital Statistics Natality and Mortality files, we find significant negative effects of prenatal exposure to toxicants on gestation and birth weight. We also find that several developmental chemicals increase the probability of infant death. The effect is quite sizeable: the reported reductions in cadmium, toluene, and epichlorohydrin releases during the 90s could account for about 3.9 percent of the overall decrease in infant mortality. Our results are robust to several specification checks, such as comparing developmental to non-developmental chemicals, and fugitive air releases to stack air releases.

Geary Seminar: February 21st 2009, Janet Currie, (Columbia University). "Childhood Health Inequalities".