Early Childhood Nutrition Increases Adult Wages Adäquate Ernährung in der frühen Kindheit führt zu höheren Einkommen im Erwachsenenalter La participation à des programmes de nutrition des très jeunes enfants accroît les salaires à l’âge adulte

Abstract

SummaryEarly Childhood Nutrition Increases Adult WagesA study in Guatemala presents the first direct evidence of the effects of early childhood nutrition programs on adult economic productivity and incomes. The research shows that feeding young children a caloric, micronutrient‐enriched nutritional supplement leads to significant increases in wage rates for men as adults. Boys who received the supplement in the first two years of life earned on average 46 per cent higher wages as adults. Boys who received the supplement in their first three years earned 37 per cent higher wages on average. Those who first received the supplement after age three did not gain any economic benefits as adults. The study demonstrates that early childhood nutrition is not only crucial for the physical growth of children, but is also a long‐term driver of economic growth and a wise economic investment. The study also provides compelling evidence that the first two years of life are the window of opportunity when nutrition programs have an enormous impact on a child’s development, with life‐long benefits. The study was conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute in collaboration with researchers from Emory University, the Institute of Nutrition in Central America and Panama, the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlebury College.