Fasting During Pregnancy and Children's Academic Performance

Douglas Almond, Bhashkar Mazumder and Reyn Van Ewijk

No 17713, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We consider the effects of daytime fasting by pregnant women during the lunar month of Ramadan on their children's test scores at age seven. Using English register data, we find that scores are .05 to .08 standard deviations lower for Pakistani and Bangladeshi students exposed to Ramadan in early pregnancy. These estimates are downward biased to the extent that Ramadan is not universally observed. We conclude that the effects of prenatal investments on test scores are comparable to many conventional educational interventions but are likely to be more cost effective and less subject to "fade out".

JEL-codes: I12 I14 I24 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-hea, nep-lab and nep-ure
Note: AG CH ED EH
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Working Paper: Fasting During Pregnancy and Children's Academic Performance (2012)
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