By: |
Sanchez, Alan (Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE));
Favara, Marta (University of Oxford);
Sheridan, Margaret (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill);
Behrman, Jere R. (University of Pennsylvania) |
Abstract: |
While the long-term consequences of early stunting on educational attainment
and on school achievement tests are well-known, there is scarce evidence about
the specific mechanisms through which early stunting leads to poorer
educational outcomes, especially in LMIC contexts. We use unique data
collected in Ethiopia and Peru as part of the Young Lives to investigate the
relationship between early undernutrition and four foundational cognitive
skills, the first two of which measure executive functioning: working memory,
inhibitory control, long-term memory, and implicit learning. We exploit the
rich longitudinal data available to control for potential confounders at the
household level and for time-invariant community characteristics and we use
data for paired-siblings to obtain household fixed-effects estimates. We find
that stunting is negatively related with the development of executive
functions, predicting reductions in working memory and inhibitory control by
12.6% and 5.8% of a standard deviation. |
Keywords: |
foundational cognitive skills, early nutrition, executive functions, Ethiopia, Peru |
JEL: |
I15 I25 J24 |
Date: |
2022–12 |
URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15818&r=neu |