In UteroRamadan Exposure and Children's Academic Performance
利用斋月禁食作为自然实验，研究产前营养对儿童学业成绩的影响，发现早期妊娠期暴露于斋月会使7岁儿童考试成绩降低0.05-0.08个标准差。
A large literature has linked the in utero environment to health in adulthood. We consider how prenatal nutrition may shape human capital acquisition in childhood, utilising the month‐long Ramadan fast as a natural experiment. In student register data for Pakistani and Bangladeshi families in England, we examine whether Ramadan's overlap with pregnancy affects subsequent academic outcomes at age 7. We find that test scores are 0.05–0.08 standard deviations lower for students exposed to Ramadan in early pregnancy. Our results suggest that brief prenatal investments may be more cost effective than traditional educational interventions in improving academic performance.