Files
Abstract
A key question in development economics is whether nutritional deficiencies generate intergenerational
poverty traps by reducing the earnings potential of children born into poverty.
To assess the causal influence on human capital of one of the most widespread micronutrient
deficiencies, supplemental iron pills were made available at a local health center in rural
Peru and adolescents were encouraged to take them up via classroom media messages. Results
from school administrative records provide novel evidence that reducing iron deficiency
results almost immediately in a large and significant improvement in school performance.
For anemic students, an average of 10 100mg iron pills over three months improves average
test scores by 0.4 standard deviations and increases the likelihood of grade progression by
11%. Supplementation also raises anemic students’ aspirations for the future. Both results
indicate that cognitive deficits from iron-deficiency anemia contribute to a nutrition-based
poverty trap. Our findings also demonstrate that, with low-cost outreach efforts in schools,
supplementation programs offered through a public clinic can be both affordable and effective
in reducing rates of adolescent IDA.