It’s very hard to get clear evidence on this as it’s so difficult to assess what actually leads to a more productive next generation, but there is some evidence focusing on health and education might make a big difference. For example there is evidence that if you have malaria a lot you get iron deficient or anemic and do worse at school. I know this is a lame anecdote, but I can tell you our nurses get malaria a lot and it’s bad for productivity!
There are some interventions like family planning measures which have even better evidence behind them—smaller family size is associated with higher income on a household level and also faster development on a country measure.
Obviously it’s not the be all and end all, but there is a decent amount of evidence out there that life-saving and health-improving measures can help assist development.
It’s very hard to get clear evidence on this as it’s so difficult to assess what actually leads to a more productive next generation, but there is some evidence focusing on health and education might make a big difference. For example there is evidence that if you have malaria a lot you get iron deficient or anemic and do worse at school. I know this is a lame anecdote, but I can tell you our nurses get malaria a lot and it’s bad for productivity!
There are some interventions like family planning measures which have even better evidence behind them—smaller family size is associated with higher income on a household level and also faster development on a country measure.
Obviously it’s not the be all and end all, but there is a decent amount of evidence out there that life-saving and health-improving measures can help assist development.