Rainfall shocks and child health in rural Pakistan

In utero exposure to income shocks has a lasting effect on child well-being. In an agricultural economy, fluctuations in rainfall directly affect household income. In this paper, we investigate the short- and long-run impact of pre-pregnancy, prenatal, and early-life exposure to fluctuations in rainfall on height for a sample of 2290 children in rural Pakistan. Given the widespread canal irrigation system prevalent in the country, we also investigate how fluctuations in river water flows affect child health. We find that fluctuations in rainfall during the pre-pregnancy period have the most lasting effects on the stature of children in the short and long run. Exposure of a mother to a 1 standard deviation reduction in rainfall during the pre-pregnancy period led her child to be 0.17 standard deviations (0.53 cm) shorter by age four. This negative impact of a pre-pregnancy rainfall shock on height persisted over time; the child continued to be 0.12 standard deviations (0.83 cm) shorter, on average, by 13 years of age. However, we find that the effect of pre-pregnancy rainfall fluctuations on children's height is smaller in districts that have access to irrigation facilities.