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Famine at birth: long-term health effects of the 1974-75 Bangladesh famine

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  • Eskander, Shaikh M.S.U.
  • Barbier, Edward B.

Abstract

We use childhood exposure to disasters as a natural experiment inducing variations in adulthood outcomes. Following the fetal origin hypothesis, we hypothesize that children from households with greater famine exposure will have poorer health outcomes. Employing a unique dataset from Bangladesh, we test this hypothesis for the 1974-75 famine that was largely caused by increased differences between the price of coarse rice and agricultural wages, together with the lack of entitlement to foodgrains for daily wage earners. People from northern regions of Bangladesh were unequally affected by this famine that spanned several months in 1974 and 1975. We find that children surviving the 1974-75 famine have lower health outcomes during their adulthood. Due to the long-lasting effects of such adverse events and their apparent human capital and growth implications, it is important to enact and enforce public policies aimed at ameliorating the immediate harms of such events through helping the poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Eskander, Shaikh M.S.U. & Barbier, Edward B., 2024. "Famine at birth: long-term health effects of the 1974-75 Bangladesh famine," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 126622, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:126622
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bangladesh; fetal origin hypothesis; health; long-term effects; the 1974-75 Bangladesh famine;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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