A growing empirical literature examines the relationship between family income and child health. An article by Case, Lubotsky and Paxson (2002) (CLP) shows that, in the United States, the socioeconomic gradient in adult health has its origins in childhood. Using data from 1986 to 1994, they find that poor children are reported by their parents to be in worse health than wealthy children, and this gradient becomes larger as children grow older. These results suggest that the relationship between income and health that is observed in adulthood has its roots in childhood. Currie and Stabile (2003) present evidence on income.
