Analysing the links between child health and education outcomes: Evidence from NIDS Waves 1 – 4

Abstract

The focus of this discussion paper is on the relationship between child health and education outcomes in the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) panel data. NIDS collects detailed information on the health status of children, including anthropometric data, and on their progression through the schooling system, providing the unique opportunity to analyse the implications of child health for human capital accumulation over the life‐cycle at the national level. The 1993 Project for Statistics on Living Standards and Development (PSLSD) also collected data on both anthropometric and education outcomes for a nationally representative sample, but only at the cross‐section, while other longitudinal studies for South Africa with this information are region‐specific, have smaller sample sizes, and are from a much earlier period.