Early life height and weight production functions with endogenous energy and protein inputs

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Esteban Puentes, Universidad de Chile; Fan Wang, University of Houston; Jere R. Behrman, University of Pennsylvania; Flavio Cunha, Rice University; John Hoddinott, Cornell University; John A. Maluccio, Middlebury Coll; Linda S. Adair, University of North Carolina; Judith B. Borja, USC-Office of Population Studies Foundation; Reynaldo Martorell, Emory University; Aryeh Stein, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-03-11
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2016 The Authors
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2016.03.002
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Economics and Human Biology
• ISSN: 1570-677X
• Volume: 22
• Start Page: 65
• End Page: 81
• Grant/Funding Information: The authors thank reviewers on previous versions for useful comments and Grand Challenges Canada (Grant 0072-03), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Global Health Grant OPP1032713), and the Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Development (Grant R01 HD070993) for financial support.
• Keywords: EARLY-CHILDHOOD; NUTRITIONAL-STATUS; Growth; Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; Economics; GUATEMALAN ADULTS; SUPPLEMENTATION; Endogeneity of inputs; GROWTH; UNDERNUTRITION; Nutrition; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES; Business & Economics; Social Sciences; CHILDREN; Early childhood; Science & Technology; CONSEQUENCES; HEALTH; Proteins
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Nutrition; Sociology, Public and Social Welfare; Economics, General

Abstract

We examine effects of protein and energy intakes on height and weight growth for children between 6 and 24 months old in Guatemala and the Philippines. Using instrumental variables to control for endogeneity and estimating multiple specifications, we find that protein intake plays an important and positive role in height and weight growth in the 6-24 month period. Energy from other macronutrients, however, does not have a robust relation with these two anthropometric measures. Our estimates indicate that in contexts with substantial child undernutrition, increases in protein-rich food intake in the first 24 months can have important growth effects, which previous studies indicate are related significantly to a range of outcomes over the life cycle.