Critical Periods during Childhood and Adolescence: A Study of Adult Height among Immigrant Siblings

Arbeitspapier

We identify the ages that constitute critical periods in children's development towards their adult health status. For this we use data on families migrating into Sweden from countries that are poorer, with less healthy conditions. Long-run health is proxied by adult height. The relation between siblings' ages at migration and their heights after age 18 allows us to estimate the causal effect of conditions at certain ages on adult height. We effectively exploit that for siblings the migration occurs simultaneously in calendar time but at different developmental stages (ages). We find some evidence that the period just before the puberty growth spurt constitutes a critical period.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Working Paper ; No. 2012:23

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; International Migration ; Health: General ; Health Behavior ; Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health ; Education and Research Institutions: General ; Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: General ; Demographic Economics: General ; Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: General, International, or Comparative
• Subject: early-life conditions ; migration ; parental education ; adult health ; height retardation ; age ; fetal programming ; developmental origins

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): van den Berg, Gerard J. ; Lundborg, Petter ; Nystedt, Paul ; Rooth, Dan-Olof
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Lund University, School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics
• (where): Lund
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/260048
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET