title: Catching up from early nutritional deficits? Evidence from rural Ethiopia.
abstract: We examine the nutritional status of a cohort of poor Ethiopian children and their patterns of catch-up growth in height-for-age between three key development stages: age one, five and eight. We use ordinary least squares (within community) and instrumental variables analysis. During the earliest period, we find that nutritional catch-up patterns vary substantially across socioeconomic groups: average catch-up growth in height-for-age is almost perfect among children in relatively better-off households, while among the poorer children, relative height is more persistent. Between five and eight years of age, however, we find near-perfect persistence and no evidence of heterogeneity in catch-up growth. Our findings suggest that household wealth, and in particular access to services, can lead to substantial catch-up growth early on in life. However, for our sample, the window of opportunity to catch up appears to close as early as the age of five.
authors: Department of Economics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors: Ingo
authors: I
authors: Outes
authors: Catherine
authors: C
authors: Porter
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012424:Rural Population