Analyze the potential macroeconomic impacts over a generation in a country where 23% of children under five are stunted. Which effects are most plausible and why?

• A. Immediate increase in national GDP due to shorter adult height reducing food consumption per capita even though cognitive function remains unchanged.
• B. Only a temporary disruption in labor markets for five years after childhood, after which affected cohorts catch up fully in productivity and schooling outcomes.
• C. No measurable macroeconomic impact because adult compensation mechanisms fully offset any childhood growth deficits in modern economies.
• D. Reduced adult productivity, lower school achievement and lifetime earnings, higher health care costs, and slowed economic growth because stunting impairs cognitive development and physical capacity from early life onward.

Answer: (D)