(NaturalPath) According to a study out of McGill University, and published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, researchers have found that raising the minimum wage in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) does not necessarily lead to better health for young children.
The main author of the paper noted, “My goal was to find out if policies intended to reduce poverty and economic inequality are effective in improving child health.” The main indicator used to determine health was the height-for-age z-score (HAZ), which indicates how a child’s height compares to the mean height of children his/her age and is an important indicator of early childhood nutrition.
The study evaluated data from 140,000 children up to five-years-old born in urban areas of countries all across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The researchers compared this information with minimum wage information to come to a conclusion.
The results of the study were that after accounting for other variables, there was a one percent decrease in HAZ scores with an increase in the minimum wage (biggest difference in South Asian nations). Additionally, the most adverse effect was seen in children whose parents engaged in manual labor and in the poorest families. Some children did benefit from the increase in the minimum wage, most notably those children in Latin America and those whose parents worked in skilled jobs.
The main author suggests that when the minimum wage was increased, it lead to higher unemployment in certain groups. “If wages were to increase, businesses may be more likely to fire women of childbearing age who, in turn, may be less likely to avail themselves of health services around the period of childbirth – a time widely understood to be critical in shaping child nutrition and stunting levels.”
Razi Berry, Founder and Publisher of Naturopathic Doctor News & Review (ndnr.com) and NaturalPath (thenatpath.com), has spent the last decade as a natural medicine advocate and marketing whiz. She has galvanized and supported the naturopathic community, bringing a higher quality of healthcare to millions of North Americans through her publications. A self-proclaimed health-food junkie and mother of two; she loves all things nature, is obsessed with organic gardening, growing fruit trees (not easy in Phoenix), laughing until she snorts, and homeschooling. She is a little bit crunchy and yes, that is her real name.