Title
Child Nutrition, Health Problems and School Achievement in Sri Lanka
Department/School
Economics
Date
2010
Document Type
Article
Keywords
early childhood, nutrition, education, academic achievement, Asia, Sri Lanka
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.09.009
Abstract
This paper estimates the impact of nutrition and health problems on test scores of grade four students in Sri Lanka using a rich dataset on child height, weight, hearing and vision problems, helminthes infections, malaria, and micronutrient deficiencies. The results show that stunting and hearing problems in children have direct impact on tests scores and an indirect effect as parents may adjust to small changes in nutrition and health by changing the education inputs provided to their child. Further, omitting health problems from estimation generally causes an upward bias in estimates of stunting, a common measure of overall child health.
Volume
38
Issue
3
Published in
World Development
Citation/Other Information
Wisniewski, S.L.W. (2010). Child Nutrition, Health Problems and School Achievement in Sri Lanka. World Development, 38(3), 315-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.09.009