Fasting during Pregnancy and Children's Academic Performance. NBER Working Paper No. 17713

We consider the effects of daytime fasting by pregnant women during the lunar month of Ramadan on their children's test scores at age seven. Using English register data, we find that scores are 0.05 to 0.08 standard deviations lower for Pakistani and Bangladeshi students exposed to Ramadan in e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNational Bureau of Economic Research
Main Authors Almond, Douglas, Mazumder, Bhashkar, van Ewijk, Reyn
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published National Bureau of Economic Research 01.12.2011
Subjects
Academic Achievement
Bangladesh
Culture
Data
Day Programs
Eating Habits
Females
Food
Foreign Countries
Intervention
Islamic Culture
Muslims
Pakistan
Pregnancy
Prenatal Care
Prenatal Influences
Religious Factors
Scores
Tests
Young Children
Bangladesh
Pakistan
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Summary:We consider the effects of daytime fasting by pregnant women during the lunar month of Ramadan on their children's test scores at age seven. Using English register data, we find that scores are 0.05 to 0.08 standard deviations lower for Pakistani and Bangladeshi students exposed to Ramadan in early pregnancy. These estimates are downward biased to the extent that Ramadan is not universally observed. We conclude that the effects of prenatal investments on test scores are comparable to many conventional educational interventions but are likely to be more cost effective and less subject to "fade out".