Analysing the links between child health and education outcomes: Evidence from NIDS Waves 1 – 4

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between child nutrition and schooling outcomes using data from the National Income Dynamics Survey (NIDS) panel data. The recent release of the NIDS panel data from 2008-2015 presents the first opportunity to examine the implications of early child health on human capital accumulation at the national level. This work estimates the relationship between poor nutrition, measured by stunting and obesity in early childhood, and later schooling outcomes among children aged 7 to 14 years. The results suggest that young children who were stunted in Wave 1 go on to complete fewer years of schooling than the children who did not suffer from early under-nutrition, not only because they enter school at a later age, but because they progress more slowly through the schooling system. In contrast, no discernible relationship is identified between obesity status and schooling outcomes in young children.