TY  - JA
AU  - Xiaobing Wang
AU  - Xinyu Liu
AU  - Shi Min
AU  - Songqing Jin
AU  - Jikun Huang
AU  - Rozelle,S.D.
AU  - Jieyuan Feng
AU  - Prasanna,B.M.
TI  - The influence of improved wheat and maize varieties on infant mortality in China
SN  - 2752-6542
PY  - 2025///
CY  - United Kingdom
PB  - Oxford University Press
KW  - Wheat
KW  - AGROVOC
KW  - Maize
KW  - High-yielding varieties
KW  - Children
KW  - Mortality
KW  - Famine
KW  - China
N1  - Peer review; Open access
N2  - The diffusion of high-yielding crop varieties has been a key driver for agricultural productivity. This study examines the relationship between the adoption of high-yielding crop varieties of two staple crops-wheat and maize-and infant mortality in rural China. Using data from 1954 to 1987, we find a significant reduction in infant mortality linked to high-yielding crop varieties diffusion, an association that remains robust even after excluding the Great Famine years. We investigate potential mechanisms driving this relationship, including increased grain production, improved infant nutrition, and changes in maternal characteristics. Additionally, our analysis unveils a spectrum of heterogeneous relationships between high-yielding crop varieties adoption and infant mortality across factors such as infant gender, maternal characteristics, and policy regulation. These findings reaffirm the positive and lasting benefits of dissemination of high-yielding crop varieties for human welfare and provide valuable policy insights for developing nations grappling with food and nutritional insecurity
UR  - https://hdl.handle.net/10883/35540
T2  - PNAS Nexus
DO  - https://doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf048
ER  -