World Bank report finds two-thirds of Indian workers earn less because of childhood stunting
17 August 2018: A report of the World Bank co-authored by Emanuela Galasso and Adam Wagstaff has found that 66% of Indian workers, third highest in the world were stunted as children. India is preceded by Bangladesh and Afghanistan, where 73% and 67% workers showed stunted growth respectively.
The report pointed out that children who have stunted growth suffer from impaired brain development, which leads to lower cognitive and socio-emotional skills and lower levels of educational attainment. Lack of these skills has resulted in 66 percent of the Indian workforce earning less than it would otherwise have.
According to the report mean reduction in income for South Asians was 10 percent, compared to North America’s 2 percent. For countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia and Pacific, the mean reduction rate was found to be 9 and 7 percent, respectively.