The Lasting Health Impact of Early-Life Chronic Poverty: Evidence from Starvation Experiences in Rural China

This study examines the long-term health consequences of early-life chronic poverty-as proxied by enduring starvation experiences-for residents aged 45-90 in rural China. Chronic poverty poses a common threat to rural households' well-being in the developing world. However, our knowledge remains limited about whether and how it shapes later-life health disparities. This study focuses on such later-life outcomes as self-rated health and depression. We conduct multiple regression analysis and instrumental variable analysis that utilizes exogenous variation in respondents' childhood disaster experiences and local geographic condition as an instrument for self-reported starvation experiences. We find persistent disadvantages in the later-life self-rated health and depression of rural Chinese who experienced early-life chronic poverty. Suggestively, the lasting health impact of early-life chronic poverty may be elevated by current social disadvantages.