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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Xiaofei Pei, Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, 113 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, 607-279-7727, xp25@cornell.edu

Children's physical growth can provide useful information about the extent of social inequalities within a society, as well as the changes in the economic conditions of that society. As China has been experiencing dramatic changes in its socio-economic structure, it is of great policy importance to see how children's health has been affected in such circumstance and what the most important determinants of their health are. This study uses the longitudinal China Health and Nutrition Survey data on 1070 children from 9 provinces in China during the 1990s, to explain the variations in their height-for-age and the distribution of stunting. A dynamic health production function is used to estimate the determinants of children's height. The preliminary result suggests that there were widened health disparities among different child groups in China during the survey period. Income is not as important to explain the variation of children's health as other factors, such as community infrastructure.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand why children’s height is a good indicator for children’s overall health and reflects the extent of social inequalities within a society
• List the important factors that determine the health status of Chinese children in the 1990s
• Recognize the role of income in determining children’s health in developing countries

Keywords: Children's Health, Developing Countries

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered