The Straight Path to Nutrition: Roads and Weather Shocks in Nigeria

How does road infrastructure affect nutrition outcomes for children in developing countries? In developing countries, droughts can severely reduce agricultural output and cause food shortages. Those are particularly... [ view full abstract ]

How does road infrastructure affect nutrition outcomes for children in developing countries? In developing countries, droughts can severely reduce agricultural output and cause food shortages. Those are particularly debilitating to young children, for whom nutrition shocks early on can have lasting effects into adulthood. In this project, I study the extent to which highway infrastructure helps mitigate the negative effect of droughts. I hypothesize that, in the event of a drought, regions well served by roads can access distant markets for food, which enables consumption smoothing and limits negative shocks to nutrition. My project tests this hypothesis employing a novel instrumental variables approach with survey and geographic data.