Varied Patterns of Catch-Up in Child Growth: Evidence From Young Lives

Forthcoming in Social Science and Medicine

37 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2018

See all articles by Paul Anand

Paul Anand

The Open University - Department of Economics; London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science (CPNSS); IZA; University of Oxford

Jere Behrman

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics

Hai-Anh Dang

World Bank - Development Data Group (DECDG); IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Indiana University Bloomington - School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA); Global Labor Organization (GLO); Vietnam National University Ha Noi

Sam Jones

University of Copenhagen - Department of Economics

Date Written: July 12, 2018

Abstract

The development of human capabilities for many disadvantaged children around the world depends on growth recovery (‘catch-up growth’). Here we develop a novel framework that allows different types of catch-up growth to be classified and estimated. We distinguish between catch-up in the mean of a group toward that of a healthy reference population versus catch-up within the group. We show these different growth types can be tested in a unified setting using a latent growth framework. We apply the results to four developing countries, using longitudinal data on 7,641 children collected over the period 2002-2013. The results show catch-up growth rates are generally modest but vary significantly between countries, and that local environmental factors are material to variation in child growth trajectories. The paper discusses the benefits of the new framework versus current methods, shows that the method is feasible, and suggests they call for intervention designs that are sensitive to community and country contexts.

Suggested Citation

Anand, Paul and Behrman, Jere R. and Dang, Hai-Anh H. and Jones, Sam, Varied Patterns of Catch-Up in Child Growth: Evidence From Young Lives (July 12, 2018). Forthcoming in Social Science and Medicine, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3212999

Paul Anand

The Open University - Department of Economics ( email )

Walton Hall
Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA
United Kingdom

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science (CPNSS) ( email )

United Kingdom

IZA ( email )

University of Oxford ( email )

Mansfield Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4AU
United Kingdom

Jere R. Behrman

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics ( email )

Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science
133 South 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6297
United States
215-898-7704 (Phone)
215-573-2057 (Fax)

Hai-Anh H. Dang (Contact Author)

World Bank - Development Data Group (DECDG) ( email )

1818 H. Street, N.W.
MC2-846
Washington, DC 20433
United States

HOME PAGE: http://sites.google.com/site/haianhhdang/

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Indiana University Bloomington - School of Public & Environmental Affairs (SPEA) ( email )

1315 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

Global Labor Organization (GLO) ( email )

Collogne
Germany

Vietnam National University Ha Noi ( email )

Sam Jones

University of Copenhagen - Department of Economics ( email )

Øster Farimagsgade 5
Bygning 26
1353 Copenhagen K.
Denmark

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