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Early-Life Environment and Adult Stature in Brazil during the Period 1950 to 1980

Author

Listed:
  • Victor Hugo de Oliveira

    (IPECE)

  • Climent Quintana-Domeque

    (University of Oxford)

Abstract

We study the relationship between environmental conditions at birth and adult stature using cohort-state level data in Brazil. We find that GDP per capita in the year of birth, not infant mortality rate, is a robust correlate of population stature in Brazil during the period 1950-1980. Our results are robust to a battery of robustness checks. Using a useful bracketing property of the (state) fixed effects and lagged dependent variables (heights) estimators, we find that an increase in GDP per capita of the magnitude corresponding to that period is associated with 43%-68% of the increase in adult height occurring in the same time span. Income, not disease, appears to be the main correlate of Brazilian population heights in the second half of the 20th Century.

Suggested Citation

  • Victor Hugo de Oliveira & Climent Quintana-Domeque, 2014. "Early-Life Environment and Adult Stature in Brazil during the Period 1950 to 1980," Working Papers 2014-008, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2014-008
    Note: FI
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    File URL: http://humcap.uchicago.edu/RePEc/hka/wpaper/Oliveira_Quintana-Domeque_2014_height_brazil_March_1_2014.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. van den Berg, G. J & Lundborg P & Nystedt P & Rooth D, 2009. "Critical Periods During Childhood and Adolescence: A Study of Adult Height Among Immigrant Siblings," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 09/20, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
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    3. Carlos Bozzoli & Angus Deaton & Climent Quintana-Domeque, 2009. "Adult height and childhood disease," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 46(4), pages 647-669, November.
    4. Batty, G. David & Shipley, Martin J. & Gunnell, David & Huxley, Rachel & Kivimaki, Mika & Woodward, Mark & Lee, Crystal Man Ying & Smith, George Davey, 2009. "Height, wealth, and health: An overview with new data from three longitudinal studies," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 137-152, July.
    5. Peracchi, Franco & Arcaleni, Emilia, 2011. "Early-life environment, height and BMI of young men in Italy," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 251-264, July.
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    8. Monasterio, Leonardo M & Noguerol, Luiz Paulo, 2005. "Growth and inequalities of height in Brazil (1939-1981)," MPRA Paper 769, University Library of Munich, Germany.
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    10. Lundborg, Petter & Nystedt, Paul & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2009. "The Height Premium in Earnings: The Role of Physical Capacity and Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 4266, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. repec:pri:rpdevs:deaton_height_health_inequality_revised_ack_jan08.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
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    Cited by:

    1. Daoud, Adel & Kim, Rockli & Subramanian, S.V., 2019. "Predicting women's height from their socioeconomic status: A machine learning approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1-1.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    infant mortality; income; adult height; bracketing property; fixed effects estimator; lagged dependent variable estimator;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • O54 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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