title: Height in mid childhood and psychosocial competencies in late childhood: evidence from four developing countries.
abstract: We use longitudinal data from children growing up in four developing countries (Peru, India, Vietnam, Ethiopia) to study the relationship between height at the age of 7-8 and a set of psychosocial competencies measured at the age of 11-12 that are known to be correlated with earnings during adulthood: self-efficacy, self-esteem and aspirations. Results show that a one standard deviation increase in height-for-age tends to increase self-efficacy, self-esteem and aspirations by 10.4%, 6.4% and 5.1%, respectively. We argue that these findings are likely to be informing of an underlying relationship between undernutrition and the formation of non-cognitive skills.
authors.affiliation: Department of International Development, University of Oxford, OX1 3TB, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dercon
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D003906:Developing Countries; D004522:Educational Status; D005002:Ethiopia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010568:Peru; D011203:Poverty; D011593:Psychology, Social; D012649:Self Concept; D020377:Self Efficacy; D014744:Vietnam
keywords: Ethiopia; Height; India; Non-cognitive skills; Peru; Psychosocial competencies; Undernutrition; Vietnam