Long-term impacts of growth and development monitoring: Evidence from routine health examinations in early childhood

Abstract

This paper examines the long-term impacts of growth and development monitoring in early childhood. For this purpose, we evaluate a public health program, the Systematic Management of Children (SMC), which offers growth and development monitoring through routine health checkups for all young children (0–6 years) in China. Using data on the program’s county-by-county rollout, we find that full exposure to the SMC from birth increases adult income by 5%. We further provide evidence that the introduction to the SMC leads to improved physical and mental health, better educational outcomes, increased cognitive skills, and sustained use of routine health checkups among adolescents.