The North Korean standard of living during the famine.
For decades, North Korea has been one of the world's most secluded societies. Due to a lack of reliable statistics, little analytical research has been done on the well-being of those who suffer most under totalitarianism: the North Korean people. By considering height data as a sensitive indicator of the North Korean standard of living, we explain what has historically influenced the welfare of children in different regions. Using cross-sectional data from 1997 when the peak of the infamous famine coincided with extreme environmental influences, we primarily test a number of socioeconomic hypotheses that have been proposed in the literature. Of these, the public distribution system and local harvest conditions-which may reflect black and gray market activity-were found as having a positive and statistically significant effect on height outcomes. Furthermore, from a biological point of view, males and older birth cohorts seem to have suffered more during the famine of the 1990s.
Schwekendiek
Daniel
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Department of Economics, University of Tuebingen, Germany. daniel.schwekendiek@uni-tuebingen.de
D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D015362:Child Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007723:Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013217:Starvation / Q000453:epidemiology*