The production function characterizes health as a form of human capital, where current health status is a function of choices and shocks over the individual’s lifetime. Specifically, an individual’s health capital, such as height, is the result of a set of factors, including previous health status, medical care, personal behaviors, and environment –some of which are observed, ., altitude, whereas others are not. Some of the determinants are chosen, such as nutritional intake, medical care, and time spent in seeking care. Others, such as environmental health, are only partially determined by a household's choices of sanitation, waste disposal,.
