早年不幸的健康代际传递对“健康中国”的启示

Intergenerational Health Transmission of Early Years’ Malnutrition and Its Implications for “Healthy China”

本文利用三年困难时期作为自然实验,实证检验了农村父母在其胚胎时期经历营养不良对其子女身高的影响,并在健康代际传递视角下探究营养干预对健康中国的启示。基于中国健康与营养调查(CHNS)数据和双重差分(DID)方法,本文发现农村父母如若在胚胎时期经历营养不良,女儿(儿子)的身高将显著地降低1.065(1.125)厘米。在三年困难时期早期出生的父母经历营养不良的时间更长,其子女所受到的负面影响更大,即营养不良的代际传递有累积效应;在三年困难时期后期出生的父母更能抵消营养不良的负面冲击,其子女的个子会更高,即营养不良的代际传递具有选择效应。本文的政策启示是营养干预不仅有利于受干预人群还有利于其子女。

Treating the three-year difficult period of China as a natural experiment, we empirically test the intergenerational transmission of malnutrition. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey(CHNS) and method of difference-in-difference(DID), this article finds that girls(boys) with both parents experienced malnutrition are significantly shorter by 1.065(1.125) cm compared to girls(boys) whose parents did not have malnutrition. For parents born in the early three-year difficult period, if they experienced longer period of malnutrition, their children could suffer more negative effects. Therefore, it is likely that the intergenerational transmission of malnutrition has a cumulative effect, and experiencing malnutrition has a multiplier effect of intergenerational transmission. The related policy implication is that nutrition intervention will be beneficial to both the target population and the next generation.