Complementarities in the Production of Child Health

We estimate flexible child health production functions to investigate whether better water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices make nutrition intake more productive for children aged 6{24 months. Using Filipino cohort data and a control function approach, we show that WASH and nutrition are complements in the formation of child height and weight. The productivities of these inputs vary with child gender: nutritional intake is more productive for boys, while WASH investments are more productive for girls. Nutritional and WASH conditions faced by sample children are similar to those currently encountered by poor children in low-income settings.