The persistent effects of in utero nutrition shocks over the life cycle: Evidence from Ramadan fasting.

More than a billion Muslims living today were potentially exposed to their mother's fasting in utero. This paper uses the Indonesian Family Life Survey to study the persistent effects of in utero exposure to Ramadan over the life cycle. The exposed children perform more child labor, score 7.4% lower on cognitive tests and 8.4% lower on math test scores. As adults, the exposed children work 4.7% fewer hours per week and are more likely to be self-employed. Estimates are robust to the inclusion of family fixed effects, particularly for hours worked and test scores. Moreover, results are strongest for religious Muslim families, while insignificant for non-Muslims. Back of the envelope calculations reveal an implied fasting rate of 68%–82% among pregnant Muslim women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Development Economics is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)