Cliometrics of Child Health

Economics has revealed that child health is one of the most important factors in the formation of human capital. Cliometrics on child health has recently offered many insights into the roles of early life environments in historical human capital formation. This study surveys the recent research on this topic. First, the short-run effects of early life environments were examined. A general conclusion from the literature is that improvements in early life environments via public health interventions and infrastructure lead to better health status in children. Further research is needed to understand the heterogeneity of the effects arising from the institutional and historical contexts. Second, we surveyed the long-run effects of early life environments. Evidence from this growing body of literature indicates that early life environments determine later-life health and socioeconomic outcomes. However, there are disagreements in the literature. Further research is required to understand the mechanisms behind the lasting effects of early life environments. Third, data and estimation strategies commonly employed in the literature were reviewed.