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Long-Term Effects of Childhood Nutrition: Evidence from a School Lunch Reform

Author

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  • Alex-Petersen, Jesper

    (Lund University)

  • Lundborg, Petter

    (Lund University and IZA)

  • Rooth, Dan-Olof

    (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University)

Abstract

We examine the long-term impact of a policy that introduced free and nutritious school lunches in Swedish primary schools. For this purpose, we use historical data on the gradual implementation of the policy across municipalities and employ a difference-in-differences design to estimate the impact of this lunch policy on a broad range of medium and longterm outcomes, including lifetime income, health, cognitive skills, and education. Our results show that the school lunch program generated substantial long-term benefits, where pupils exposed to the program during their entire primary school period have 3 percent greater life-time earnings. In addition, we find the effect to be greater for pupils that were exposed at earlier ages and for pupils from poor households. Finally, exposure to the school lunch program had substantial effects on educational attainment and health and these effects can explain a large part of the return to school lunches.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex-Petersen, Jesper & Lundborg, Petter & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2018. "Long-Term Effects of Childhood Nutrition: Evidence from a School Lunch Reform," Working Paper Series 4/2018, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:sofiwp:2018_004
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhao, Chunkai & Chen, Boou & Song, Zhiyong, 2024. "School nutritious feeding and cognitive abilities of students in poverty: Evidence from the nutrition improvement program in China," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    2. Xhiselda Demaj, 2024. "Expanding Benefits: The Impact of a Universal Free School Meal Policy on Non-Cognitive Skills," Working Papers 2024: 11, Department of Economics, University of Venice "Ca' Foscari".
    3. Luca Fumarco & Sven Hartmann & Francesco Principe, 2024. "A neglected determinant of eating behaviors: Relative age," IAAEU Discussion Papers 202403, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).
    4. Zhou, Yanran & Ren, Jingru & Zheng, Xiaodong, 2024. "Feeding for a brighter future: The long-term labor market consequences of school meals in rural China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    5. Davis, Will & Kreisman, Daniel & Musaddiq, Tareena, 2023. "The Effect of Universal Free School Meals on Child BMI," IZA Discussion Papers 16387, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Bao, Yanxi & Liao, Tingxuan, 2024. "Multidimensional poverty and growth: Evidence from India 1998–2021," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    7. Elad DeMalach, 2023. "Geographic Barriers to Education in Disadvantaged Communities: Evidence from High School Openings in Israeli Arab Localities," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2023.02, Bank of Israel.
    8. Yao, Yuxin & Zhang, Yi, 2023. "The long-term and intergenerational effects of early-life hunger experience on human capital and labor market outcomes," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    9. Xueyi Duan & Yinhe Liang & Xiaobo Peng, 2024. "Free school meals and cognitive ability: Evidence from China's student nutrition improvement plan," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1480-1502, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    nutrition; early life; childhood; long-term; income; causal;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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