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Genetic Endowments, Parental and Child Health in Rural Ethiopia

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  • Bereket Kebede

Abstract

This paper examines the determinants of child health in rural Ethiopia for the period 1994-97 using height-for-age z-scores as measures of long-term health. The panel nature of the data helps to control for community, household and individual level heterogeneity. Unlike most previous studies, the influence of parental health on children is examined. In addition, the role of genetic endowments in the relationship between child and parental health is analysed. Unlike most studies in the health literature, no significant correlation between children’s health and per capita expenditures is found. This reinforces the widespread suspicion that most income coefficients in the literature are biased upwards due to correlation between unobservable heterogeneity and income levels. But the height of parents is highly significant in all specifications. Even though most prices are not significant, the prices of food items that are mostly consumed by children are significantly and negatively related to child health. Birth order has a significant impact on the health of children; older children are taller than their younger siblings. Female children have better height-for-age z-scores than males. Since the health of children deteriorates with their age, deprivations in later years are probably more important than during pre- or neo-natal periods. This seems to be confirmed by the statistical insignificance of a dummy variable that identifies children born in a year when the household lost substantial harvest due to drought. The number of siblings of the wife significantly and negatively affects the health of children; but that of the head is not significant. As females control the management of housework and food preparation, their siblings probably compete with their children more than that of the husband’s. Years of marriage, probably reflecting stability in marriage, have a beneficial impact on child health. Altitude has a significant negative impact on the health of children. Finally, correlations between child and parental health are mainly explained by genetic inheritance than by behaviour. In an environment where there are no radical differences in the nutritional and disease environments of parents and children, the importance of genetic endowments in determining child health should not be underestimated.

Suggested Citation

  • Bereket Kebede, 2003. "Genetic Endowments, Parental and Child Health in Rural Ethiopia," CSAE Working Paper Series 2003-10, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:csa:wpaper:2003-10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mikael Lindahl, 2005. "Estimating the Effect of Income on Health and Mortality Using Lottery Prizes as an Exogenous Source of Variation in Income," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(1).
    2. Anne Case & Darren Lubotsky & Christina Paxson, 2002. "Economic Status and Health in Childhood: The Origins of the Gradient," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(5), pages 1308-1334, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gregory Ponthiere, 2011. "Mortality, Family and Lifestyles," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 175-190, June.
    2. Sonia Bhalotra & Samantha Rawlings, 2013. "Gradients of the Intergenerational Transmission of Health in Developing Countries," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(2), pages 660-672, May.
    3. Kishida,Takaaki & Matsuura-Kannari,Masanori & Islam,Abu Hayat Md. Saiful, 2024. "Revisiting Birth Order Effects on Child Health: Evidence from Bangladesh," IDE Discussion Papers 936, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    4. Bethlehem A. Argaw, 2017. "Regional inequality of economic outcomes and opportunities in Ethiopia: A tale of two periods," WIDER Working Paper Series 118, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Katja Coneus & C. Katharina Spieß, 2008. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Health in Early Childhood," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 126, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    6. Coneus, Katja & Spiess, C. Katharina, 2012. "The intergenerational transmission of health in early childhood—Evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 89-97.
    7. David Mmopelwa, 2019. "Household size, birth order and child health in Botswana," Discussion Papers 2019-10, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    8. Chandna, Arjita & Bhagowalia, Priya, 2024. "Birth order and children’s health and learning outcomes in India," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    9. Felfe, Christina & Deuchert. Eva, 2011. "The tempest: Using a natural disaster to evaluate the link between wealth and child development," Economics Working Paper Series 1146, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    10. Bethlehem A. Argaw, 2017. "Regional inequality of economic outcomes and opportunities in Ethiopia: A tale of two periods," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-118, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ethiopia; child health; intra-household allocation; genetic influences in health;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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