24 CHAPTER 2


ously severely malnourished children more frequently exhibited immature behavior, had poorer relationships with classmates and teachers (in Barbados and Jamaica), and acted more withdrawn, solitary, or unsociable than their classmates (Behrman 2000, 9). These human capital deficits, in turn, have long-term impacts on earn- ings, completing the cycle that transmits poverty through generations of families. One route is through a link between poor nutrition and physical productivity. Stunting at thirty-six months among Guatemalan children led to reduced body size and strength among adults (Behrman 2000, 13). Work


capacity, defined as maximal oxygen consumption (or VO2 max), was signifi- cantly greater among males who had received an energy- and protein-rich supplement as children than in those who had received a low-energy, low- protein supplement, albeit fortified with vitamins and minerals. The effect on the productivity of females was weak (Martorell 1995, 1134S). More recent research comparing these same groups years later found that exposure to the more nutritious supplement before age three—but not after—was associated (when the children had become adults) with a 46 percent increase in average wages, although for men only (Hoddinott et al. 2008). Fewer years of education, poor cognitive development, and smaller stat-


ure in childhood reduce adult earning potential. Studies from 51 countries show that each year of schooling increases adult wages by 9.7 percent, on average (Grantham-McGregor et al. 2007).12 Examining the relationship between cognitive skills and earnings for male workers in rural Pakistan, Alderman et al. (1996) find that a 1 percent increase in cognitive skills increases adult earn- ings by 0.233 percent (Behrman 2000, 18). Similarly, short adult height, result- ing from childhood stunting, is associated with reduced adult earnings in 55 countries (Grantham-McGregor et al. 2007, 67). In Brazil, a 1 percent increase in height was found to lead to a 2.4 percent increase in adult male earnings (Thomas and Strauss 1997, cited in Behrman 2000, 18). If each year of school- ing increases adult yearly income by 9 percent, the loss in adult income from being stunted but not poor is roughly 22.2 percent, the loss from being poor but not stunted is 5.9 percent, and the loss from being both stunted and poor is 30.1 percent (Grantham-McGregor et al. 2007, 67).


12Although some of the studies had methodological weaknesses, this average matches that of another more rigorous study, which reported that each year of schooling in Indonesia increased wages by 7–11 percent (Grantham-McGregor et al. 2007, 66).


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