We evaluate an intervention targeting early life nutrition and well-being for households in extreme poverty in Northern Nigeria. The intervention leads to large and sustained improvements in children's anthropometric and health outcomes, including an 8 percent reduction in stunting 4 years, post-intervention. These impacts are partly driven by information-related channels. However, the certain and substantial flow of cash transfers is also key. They induce positive labor supply responses among women, and enables them to undertake productive investments in livestock. These provide protein rich diets for children, and generate higher household earnings streams long after the cash transfers expire.
Authors
Research Fellow University College London
Pedro is a Professor of Economics at University College London and an economist in the IFS' Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice (cemmap).
CPP Director, IFS Research Director
Imran is Professor of Economics at University College London and Director of the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy at the IFS.
Molly Scott
Giacomo Mason
Lucy Kraftman
Lucie Moore
Journal article details
- DOI
- 10.1257/aer.20191726
- Publisher
- American Economic Association
- JEL
- I12, I32, I38, J13, J16, J22, O12
- Issue
- Volume 111, Issue 8, August 2021, pages 2506-49
Suggested citation
Carneiro, P et al. (2021). 'The impacts of a multifaceted pre-natal intervention on human capital accumulation in early life' 111(8/2021), pp.2506–49.
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