Unequal Starts: Intrahousehold Child Nutrition Inequality in Bangladesh

Despite significant economic growth in developing countries, child malnutrition remains a daunting challenge. Recent studies indicate that later-born children in these countries often face health disadvantages. This study examines the effects of birth order on child nutrition using four rounds of the Demographic and Health Survey in Bangladesh. We find a significant nutritional disadvantage for later-born children: specifically, second-born children are approximately 0.055 standard deviations shorter in height and 2.7 percentage points more likely to be stunted than their first-born siblings. Our heterogeneity analysis reveals differences in birth order effects across key individual and household characteristics—such as gender and household economic status—and we further show that the birth order effect emerges after the age of 2 years and can persist through the age of 4 years. Given the broader economic implications of child growth, our findings offer insights for development-focused policy agenda, especially Sustainable Development Goals in many developing countries including Bangladesh.