The second set of outcomes is related to levels and trends in malnutrition and micronutrient intake in the early years. Anthropometric measures such as height-for-age<sup>2</sup> (stunting), weight-forheight<sup>3</sup> (wasting) and weight-for-age<sup>4</sup> (underweight) are used to analyze the differences in malnutrition levels across circumstance groups. Malnourishment increases the risk of death, inhibits cognitive development, and affects health status later in life (O’Donnell et al. 2008). In connection with the above, it is also important that children have the necessary level of micronutrient intake for healthy development. Access to iodized salt, iron tables during pregnancy and Vitamin A in early infancy are important indicators for micronutrient intake. In this paper, we use two variables available in the DHS and that are important for determining and supplementing iron deficiency anemia during pregnancy: (i) whether the mother has had blood tests during her pregnancy; and (ii) whether she has taken any iron supplementation tablets.

The third set of outcomes is related to access to basic infrastructure and services that determine children’s health and the development of cognitive potential. The WHO estimates that every year 1.4 million children under the age of five die from diarrheal diseases attributed to unsafe water supply and inadequate sanitation and hygiene (Molinas, de Barros, and Saavedra 2010). Two infrastructure variables have been analyzed in this analysis, by circumstance group: (i) access to improved water; and (ii) a proxy variable for sanitation (i.e., whether the household has its own toilet).

> 2 Height -for-age (H/A) reflects cumulative linear growth. Height for age deficits indicate past or chronic inadequacies of nutrition and/or chronic or frequent illness, but cannot measure short-term changes in malnutrition. Low H/A relative to a child of the same sex and age in the reference population is referred to as “shortness.” Extreme cases of low H/A, in which shortness is interpreted as pathological, are referred to as “stunting.” H/A is used primarily as a population indicator rather than for individual growth monitoring (World Bank, 2008).

> 3 Weight-for-height (W/H) measures body weight relative to height and has the advantage of not requiring age data. Normally, W/H is used as an indicator of current nutritional status and can be useful for screening children at risk and for measuring short-term changes in nutritional status. At the other end of the spectrum, W/H can also be used to construct indicators of obesity. Low W/H relative to a child of the same sex and age in a reference population is referred to as “thinness.” Extreme cases of low W/H are commonly referred to as “wasting.” Wasting may be the consequence of starvation or severe disease (in particular, diarrhea) (World Bank 2008).

> 4 Weight-for-age (W/A) reflects body mass relative to age. W/A is, in effect, a composite measure of height-for-age and weight-forheight, the term “underweight” is commonly used to refer to severe or pathological deficits in W/A. W/A is commonly used for monitoring growth and to assess changes in the magnitude of malnutrition over time. However, W/A confounds the effects of shortand long-term health and nutrition problems (World Bank, 2008).

8