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Handbook of Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation pp 47–59Cite as

The Greek Famine of 1941–1942 and Its Impact

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Abstract

The Greek Famine of 1941–1942 provides a natural experiment to test the fetal origins hypothesis. This hypothesis states that exposure to detrimental conditions during the fetal stage leads to worse health and socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. This chapter first describes the Greek famine’s causes. It then reviews the impact of the Greek famine on the education and labor market outcomes of the individuals exposed to the famine in utero or in early childhood. Corroborating Barker’s hypothesis, the evidence indicates that the Greek famine significantly reduced educational attainment for those who experienced it before their third year of life. The famine also reduced labor market success for those with famine exposure in their early childhood. This finding is partly driven by a shift towards rural birthplaces in the famine years. The sum of the findings underscores the importance of averting early childhood malnourishment.

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Abbreviations

ISEI:

International Socio-Economic Index

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Economics, Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    Sven Neelsen

  2. Department of Economics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    Thomas Stratmann

Authors
  1. Sven Neelsen
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  2. Thomas Stratmann
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Correspondence to Thomas Stratmann .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Research Division, Faculty of Life Science and Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK

    Victor R. Preedy

  2. School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood B. Patel

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Neelsen, S., Stratmann, T. (2019). The Greek Famine of 1941–1942 and Its Impact. In: Preedy, V., Patel, V. (eds) Handbook of Famine, Starvation, and Nutrient Deprivation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55387-0_75

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55387-0_75

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55386-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55387-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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