Ella Sargsyan
(IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
will give a presentation on
Potato to the Rescue: Home Production and Child Nutrition during Deep Economic Crises
Abstract: Sufficient nutrition intake in early life is crucial for the development of human capital. In light of rising concerns about food insecurity caused by a variety of crises, it is essential to identify effective coping strategies households can employ to mitigate the lasting impacts of income shocks and associated nutrition deficits. We uncover a previously unexplored coping mechanism - home production - and establish the extent of its effectiveness in mitigating negative effects of crises on child health. To do so, we focus on the transition period after the collapse of the Soviet Union and investigate the role of household production of potatoes. Specifically, utilizing individual-level data from Russia, Kazakhstan, and other post-Soviet countries and exploiting the variation in the soil suitability index, we establish that households that grew potatoes on land more suitable for their cultivation were able to reduce the negative effects of transition shock on the health of their children as measured by adult height and height-for-age z-score. Our findings suggest that targeted nutritional interventions are needed to mitigate long-term damage for children in times of catastrophic economic shocks, particularly in areas where households face limitations in home production.