[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osu/osuewp/09-04.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The China Great Leap Forward Famine: The Lasting Impact of Mothers’ Fetal Malnutrition on Their Offspring

Author

Listed:
  • Belton M. Fleisher

    (Department of Economics, Ohio State University)

  • Seonghoon Kim

    (Department of Economics, Ohio State University)

Abstract
Mothers born around the China Great Leap Forward Famine (famine-born mothers) are likely to have worse adult outcomes due to a negative relationship between fetal malnutrition and their health and cognitive ability. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, I investigate whether famine-born mothers transmit less human capital to their offspring through various channels, including less cognitive ability and other innate traits and by the choice of less investment in children’s human capital. My study also focuses on possible gender differences in these effects. I find that in-utero famine experience of famine-born mothers is negatively related to the education and labor outcomes of their offspring. However, female children are less affected by mothers’ famine experience than are men. This outcome suggests that Trivers-Willard (1973) effects dominate parental-choice effects despite the well-known son-preference of China.

Suggested Citation

  • Belton M. Fleisher & Seonghoon Kim, 2010. "The China Great Leap Forward Famine: The Lasting Impact of Mothers’ Fetal Malnutrition on Their Offspring," Working Papers 09-04, Ohio State University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:osu:osuewp:09-04
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.econ.ohio-state.edu/pdf/fleisher/wp09-04.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Strauss & Duncan Thomas, 1998. "Health, Nutrition, and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(2), pages 766-817, June.
    2. Douglas Almond & Lena Edlund & Hongbin Li & Junsen Zhang, 2007. "Long-Term Effects Of The 1959-1961 China Famine: Mainland China and Hong Kong," NBER Working Papers 13384, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Gary S. Becker & Nigel Tomes, 1994. "Human Capital and the Rise and Fall of Families," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, Third Edition, pages 257-298, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Douglas Almond & Bhashkar Mazumder, 2008. "The effects of maternal fasting during Ramadan on birth and adult outcomes," Working Paper Series WP-07-22, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    5. Chen, Yuyu & Zhou, Li-An, 2007. "The long-term health and economic consequences of the 1959-1961 famine in China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 659-681, July.
    6. Xin Meng & Nancy Qian, 2009. "The Long Term Consequences of Famine on Survivors: Evidence from a Unique Natural Experiment using China's Great Famine," NBER Working Papers 14917, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Qiang & An, Lian, 2015. "Intergenerational health consequences of the 1959–1961 Great Famine on children in rural China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 27-40.
    2. Meng, Xin & Zhao, Guochang, 2021. "The long shadow of a large scale education interruption: The intergenerational effect," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Meng, Xin & Zhao, Guochang, 2016. "The Long Shadow of the Chinese Cultural Revolution: The Intergenerational Transmission of Education," IZA Discussion Papers 10460, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Li, Jinhu & Menon, Nidhiya, 2020. "Echo Effects of Early-Life Health Shocks: The Intergenerational Consequences of Prenatal Malnutrition during the Great Leap Forward Famine in China," IZA Discussion Papers 13171, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Lee, Chulhee, 2014. "Intergenerational health consequences of in utero exposure to maternal stress: Evidence from the 1980 Kwangju uprising," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 284-291.
    6. Dimico, Arcangelo, 2014. "Poverty trap and educational shock: Evidence from missionary fields," QUCEH Working Paper Series 14-07, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    7. 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).
    8. Tan, Chih Ming & Tan, Zhibo & Zhang, Xiaobo, 2014. "Sins of the fathers: The intergenerational legacy of the 1959-1961 Great Chinese Famine on children's cognitive development:," IFPRI discussion papers 1351, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Chih Ming Tan & Zhibo Tan & Xiaobo Zhang, 2014. "Sins of the Father: The Intergenerational Legacy of the 1959-61 Great Chinese Famine on Children's Cognitive Development," Working Paper series 08_14, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Huang, Wei & Zhou, Yi, 2013. "Effects of education on cognition at older ages: Evidence from China's Great Famine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 54-62.
    2. Deng, Xin & Xu, Dingde & Zeng, Miao & Qi, Yanbin, 2019. "Does early-life famine experience impact rural land transfer? Evidence from China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 58-67.
    3. Richard Akresh & Sonia Bhalotra & Marinella Leone & Una Osili, 2023. "First- and Second-Generation Impacts of the Biafran War," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(2), pages 488-531.
    4. Seonghoon Kim & Quheng Deng & Belton M. Fleisher & Shi Li, 2010. "The Lasting Impact of Mothers’ Fetal Malnutrition on Their Offspring: Evidence from the China Great Leap Forward Famine," Working Papers 10-01, Ohio State University, Department of Economics.
    5. Neelsen, Sven & Stratmann, Thomas, 2011. "Effects of prenatal and early life malnutrition: Evidence from the Greek famine," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 479-488, May.
    6. Scholte, Robert S. & van den Berg, Gerard J. & Lindeboom, Maarten, 2015. "Long-run effects of gestation during the Dutch Hunger Winter famine on labor market and hospitalization outcomes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 17-30.
    7. Kim, Seonghoon & Quheng, Deng & Fleisher, Belton M. & Li, Shi, 2010. "The Lasting Impact of Mothers' Fetal Malnutrition on Their Offspring: Evidence from the China Great Leap Forward Famine," IZA Discussion Papers 5194, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Chen, Qihui & Deng, Tinghe & Pei, Chunchen & Wang, Chengcheng, 2018. "Memory of Famine – Does Childhood Experience of Severe Food Shortage Affect Food Choice in Old Age?," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 273897, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Xiaoyu Wu & Lixing Li, 2012. "Family size and maternal health: evidence from the One-Child policy in China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(4), pages 1341-1364, October.
    10. Xin Meng & Nancy Qian, 2009. "The Long Term Consequences of Famine on Survivors: Evidence from a Unique Natural Experiment using China's Great Famine," NBER Working Papers 14917, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Eriksson, Tor & Pan, Jay & Qin, Xuezheng, 2014. "The intergenerational inequality of health in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 392-409.
    12. Richard Akresh & Sonia Bhalotra & Marinella Leone & Una Osili, 2017. "Hunger Games: First and Second Generation Impacts of the Biafran War," HiCN Working Papers 254, Households in Conflict Network.
    13. Cheng, Yawen & Kong, Dongmin & Wang, Qin, 2023. "Parents' early experience and children's years of schooling: The long-term impact of son preference," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    14. Baez, Javier E., 2011. "Civil wars beyond their borders: The human capital and health consequences of hosting refugees," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 391-408, November.
    15. Douglas Almond & Janet Currie, 2011. "Killing Me Softly: The Fetal Origins Hypothesis," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(3), pages 153-172, Summer.
    16. Chae, Minhee & Hatton, Timothy J. & Meng, Xin, 2023. "Explaining trends in adult height in China: 1950 to 1990," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    17. Abhishek Chakravarty & Matthias Parey & Greg C Wright, 2021. "The Human Capital Legacy of a Trade Embargo," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 19(3), pages 1692-1733.
    18. Kebin Deng & Zhong Ding & Yalu Wang, 2020. "Peasant youth experiences of CEOs, risk aversion and corporate performance," Rationality and Society, , vol. 32(3), pages 278-312, August.
    19. Song, Shige, 2013. "Identifying the intergenerational effects of the 1959–1961 Chinese Great Leap Forward Famine on infant mortality," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 474-487.
    20. Samantha Rawlings, 2012. "Gender, race, and heterogeneous scarring and selection effects of epidemic malaria on human capital," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2012-01, Department of Economics, University of Reading.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender difference; Malnutrition; Health; Labor Market Outcomes; Schooling; Barker hypothesis; Trivers-Willard hypothesis; China Famine;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • P36 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Consumer Economics; Health; Education and Training; Welfare, Income, Wealth, and Poverty

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osu:osuewp:09-04. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: John Slaughter (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.