Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/306329 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
Discussion Papers No. 297
Publisher: 
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Courant Research Centre - Poverty, Equity and Growth (CRC-PEG), Göttingen
Abstract: 
Hundreds of millions of Indian children are too short for their age. In this paper we explore whether early marriage of women in India contributes to this phenomenon. Using India's national health surveys and age at menarche as an instrument, we find that one year earlier mother's marriage reduces her child's height-for-age by 0.20 standard deviations. On mechanisms, earlier-married mothers delay infant complementary feeding and breastfeed for less time; these practices appear to be influenced by knowledge gaps and preference issues. Given slow evolution in marital age practices, supporting the nutrition efforts of earlymarried mothers can markedly improve intergenerational well-being.
Subjects: 
Early marriage
child growth
health behavior
rural development
JEL: 
I12
J12
O15
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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