Is there Catch-Up Growth? Evidence from Three Continents

Sudhanshu Handa, Amber Peterman and Innocenti Research Centre Unicef

Innocenti Working Papers

Abstract: The ability to correct childhood malnutrition, or for children to display ‘catch-up growth’, has important population-level implications for economic and social development. According to most recent estimates, over one third of all children under the age of five in developing countries suffer from some form of nutritional deficiency, with approximately 27% classified as underweight, 31% exhibiting stunting and 10% exhibiting wasting. We contribute to the catch-up growth debate by presenting results from three widely varying population based samples using identical statistical techniques, controlling for endogeneity of lagged health in several different ways, and measuring height in z-scores. Our estimates for these three different populations indicate that while previous health does not track future health perfectly, there is still significant persistence in health status for young children. These estimates do not account for household health-related behaviour.

Keywords: child health; developing countries; growth monitoring (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40
Date: 2015
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Journal Article: Is There Catch-Up Growth? Evidence from Three Continents (2016)
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