Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Poverty, undernutrition, and child mortality: Some inter-regional puzzles and their implicationsfor research and policy

  • Published:
The Journal of Economic Inequality Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 07 March 2008

An Erratum to this article was published on 07 March 2008

An Erratum to this article was published on 07 March 2008

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between measures of income poverty, undernourishment, childhood undernutrition, and child mortality in developing countries. While there is, as expected, a close aggregate correlation between these measures of deprivation, the measures generate some inter-regional paradoxes. Income poverty and child mortality is highest in Sub Saharan Africa, but childhood undernutrition is by far the highest in South Asia, while the share of people with insufficient calories (undernourishment) is highest in the Caribbean. The paper finds that standard explanations cannot account for these inter-regional paradoxes, particularly the ones related to undernourishment and childhood undernutrition. The paper suggests that measurement issues related to the way undernourishment and childhood undernutrition are measured might play a significant role in affecting these inter-regional puzzles, and points to implications for research and policy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Adams, R.: Economic growth, inequality and poverty: estimating the growth elasticity of poverty. World Dev 32(12), 1989–2014 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Anand, S., Ravallion, M.: Human development in poor countries: on the role of private incomes and public services. J. Econ. Perspect. 7, 133–150 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Anand, S., Bärninghausen, T: Human resource and health outcomes: cross-country econometric study. Lancet 364, 1603–1609 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bhandari, N., Bahl, R., Taneja, S., de Onis, M, Bhan, M.: Growth performance of affluent Indian children is similar to that in developed countries. Bull. W.H.O. 80(3), 189–195 (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  5. Bogin, B.: Patterns of Human Growth. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Bourguignon, F.: The growth elasticity of poverty reduction: explaining heterogeneity across countries and time periods. In: Eichler, T., Turnovsky, S. (eds) Growth and Inequality. MIT, Cambridge (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Brinkman, H., Drukker, J., Slot, B.: GDP per capita and the biological standard of living in contemporary developing countries. In: Baten, J., Komlos, J. (eds) The Biological Standard of Living. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  8. Datt, G., Ravallion, M.: Growth and redistribution components of changes in poverty measures: a decomposition with application to Brazil and India in the 1980s. J. Dev. Econ. 38(2), 275–295 (1992)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Davies, D.P.: The importance of genetic influences on growth in early childhood with particular reference to children of asiatic origin. In: Waterlow, J. (ed) Linear Growth Retardation in Developing Countries. Raven, New York (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Deaton, A.: The Analysis of Household Surveys. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (1997)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  11. Devarajan, S., Miller, M., Swanson, E.: Goals for Development. (Policy Research Working Paper No. 2819). The World Bank, Washington DC (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Drèze, J., Sen, A.: Hunger and Public Action. Oxford University Press, New York (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Eveleth, P., Tanner, J.: Worldwide Variation in Human Growth. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  14. FAO (ed.) Measurement and Assessment of Food Deprivation and Undernutrition. FAO, Rome (2003)

  15. Gallup, J., Sachs, J.: The economic burden of malaria. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 64(1,2), S: 85–96 (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Graitcer, P., Gentry, E.: Measuring children: one reference for all. Lancet 2(8241), 297–299 (1981)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Gorstein, J. et al.: Issues in the assessment of nutritional status using anthropometry. Bull. W.H.O. 72, 273–283 (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  18. Guilkey, D., Riphahn, R.: The determinants of child mortality in the Philippines: estimation of a structural model. J. Dev. Econ. 56, 281–305 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Habicht, J.P. et al.: Height and weight in pre-school children: how relevant are ethnic differences in growth potential? Lancet 1, 611–614 (1974)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Harttgen, K., Misselhorn, M.: A multilevel approach to explain child mortality and undernutrition in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Mimeographed, University of Göttingen (2006)

  21. Kidd, K.K. et al.: Minisatellite diversity supports a recent African origin for modern humans. Nat. Genet. 13, 154–160 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Klasen, S., Misselhorn, M.: Determinants of the growth semielasticity of poverty reduction. Mimeographed, University of Göttingen (2006)

  23. Klasen, S.: Measuring poverty and deprivation in South Africa. Rev. Income Wealth 46, 33–58 (2000a)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Klasen, S.: Malnourished and Surviving in South Asia, Better Nourished and Dying Young in Africa: What Can Explain this Puzzle? SFB Working Paper No. 214. Department of Statistics, Munich (2000b)

  25. Klasen, S. Malnourished and surviving in South Asia, better nourished and dying young in Africa: what can explain this puzzle? In: FAO (ed) Measurement and Assessment of Food Deprivation and Undernutrition. FAO, Rome, pp. 283–287 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  26. Klasen, S., Moradi, A.: The Nutritional Status of Elites in India, Kenya, and Zambia: an Appropriate Guide for Developing Reference Standards for Undernutrition? SFB Discussion Paper No. 217. Department of Statistics, Munich (2000)

  27. Lancet: A measure of agreement on growth standards. Lancet 1(8369), 142–143 (1984, Editorial)

  28. Lence, S.: Household expenditure survey methods. In: FAO (ed) Measurement and Assessment of Food Deprivation and Undernutrition. FAO, Rome, pp. 91–96 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Lipton, M., Ravallion, M.: Poverty and policy. In: Behrman, J., Srinivasan, T.N. (eds) Handbook of Development Economics, Vol 3b. North Holland, Amsterdam (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Martorell, R., Mendoza, F., Castillo, R.: Poverty and stature in children. Waterlow, J (ed) Linear Growth Retardation in Developing Countries. Raven, New York (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  31. McGillivray, M.: Measuring non-economic well-being achievement. Rev. Income Wealth 51(2), 337–365 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. MacFarlane, S.B.: A universal growth reference of fool’s gold? Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 49, 745–753 (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Mohamed, A.J., Onyango, A.W., de Onis, M., Prakash, N., Mabry, R.M., Alasfoor, D.H.: Socioeconomic predictors of unconstrained child growth in Muscat, Oman. East. Mediterr. Health J. 10, 295–302 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Mosk, C.: Making Health Work: Human Growth in Modern Japan. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  35. Mosley, W., Chen, L.: An analytical framework for the study of child survival in developing countries. In: Mosley, W. (ed) Child Survival: Strategies for Research. Population Council, New York (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  36. Naiken, L.: FAO methodology for estimating the prevalence of food deprivation and undernutrition. In: FAO (ed) Measurement and Assessment of Food Deprivation and Undernutrition. FAO, Rome, pp. 7–42 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Nussbaum, M., Sen, A.: The Quality of Life. Oxford University Press, New York (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  38. de Onis, M., Habicht, J.P.: Anthropometric reference data for international use: recommendations from a World Health Organization Expert Committee. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 64, 650–658 (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  39. de Onis, M., Garza, S.: Foreword. Acta Pediatr. (Supplement) 450, 5–6 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Osmani, S.R.: Poverty and nutrition in South Asia. In: UN Sub-Committee on Nutrition (eds) Nutrition and Poverty. WHO, Geneva (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  41. Osmani, S.R.: Nutrition and the economics of food: implications of some recent controversies. In: Dreze, J., Sen, A. (eds) The Political Economy of Hunger, Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, New York (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  42. Osmani, S., Sen, A.: The hidden penalties of gender inequality: fetal origins of ill-health. Economics and Human Biology 1(1), 105–121 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Pelletier, D.: Malnutrition, morbidity, and child mortality in developing countries. In: United Nations (eds.) Too Young to Die: Genes or Gender? United Nations, New York (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Pelletier, D.: The relationship between child anthropometry and mortality in developing countries. J. Nutr. (Supplement) 124, 2047S–2081S (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Pelletier, D., Frongillo, E., Habicht, J.-P.: Epidemiological Evidence for a potentiaing effect of malnutrition on child mortality. Am. J. Public Health 83, 1130–1133 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Pritchett, L., Summers, L.: Wealthier is healthier. J. Hum. Resour. 31, 841–868 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Ravallion, M.: Poverty Comparisons. Harwood, Chur (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Ramalingaswami, V., Jonsson, U., Rohde, J.: The South Asian enigma. In: UNICEF (ed) The Progress of Nations. UNICEF, New York (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  49. Seckler, D.: Small but healthy: a basic hypothesis in the theory, measurement and policy of malnutrition. In: Sukhatme, D. (ed) Newer Concepts in Nutrition and their Implication for Policy. Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation of Science, Pune (1982)

    Google Scholar 

  50. Sen, A.: Development as Freedom. Knopf, New York (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  51. Sen, A.: The concept of development. In: Chenery, H., Srinivasan, T.N. (eds) Handbook of Development Economics. North-Holland, Amsterdam (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  52. Sen, A.: Poverty and Famines. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1984)

    Google Scholar 

  53. Smith, L., Haddad, L.: Explaining child malnutrition in developing countries: a cross-country analysis. IFPRI discussion paper no. 60. IFPRI, Washington DC (1999)

  54. Smith, L., Haddad, L.: How potent is economic growth in reducing undernutrition? What are the pathways of impact? New cross-country evidence. Econ. Dev. Cult. Change 51, 55–76 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. Smith, L., Ramakrishnan, U., Haddad, L., Martorell, R., Ndyae, A.: The importance of women’s status for child nutrition in developing countries. IFPRI research report no. 131. IFPRI, Washington DC (2003)

  56. Smith, L.: The use of household expenditure surveys for the assessment of food insecurity. In FAO (ed) Measurement and Assessment of Food Deprivation and Undernutrition. FAO, Rome, pp. 57–88 (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  57. Sukhatme, D.: Measurement of undernutrition. Econ. Polit. Wkly. 17 (1982)

  58. Svedberg, P.: 841 million undernourished? World Dev. 28 (1999)

  59. Svedberg, P.: Undernutrition overestimated. Econ. Dev. Cult. Change 51(1), 5–36 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. UNDP: Human Development Report. Oxford University Press, New York (1990, 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  61. UNICEF: The State of World’s Children: Focus on Nutrition. UNICEF, New York (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  62. WHO: Measuring Change in Nutritional Status. WHO, Geneva (1983)

    Google Scholar 

  63. WHO: Physical Status: the use and Interpretation of Anthropometry. WHO technical report series no. 854. WHO, Geneva (1995)

  64. WHO: Infant and Young Child Nutrition: the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study. WHO implementations and resolutions EB105/inf.doc./I. WHO, Geneva (1999)

  65. WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group: WHO child growth standards based on length/height, weight, and age. Acta Paediatr. (Suppl.) 450, 76–85 (2006a)

    Google Scholar 

  66. WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group: Enrolment and baseline characteristics in the WHO multicentre growth reference study. Acta Paediatr. (Suppl.) 450, 5–15 (2006b)

    Google Scholar 

  67. WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group: Assessment of differences in linear growth among populations in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study. Acta Paediatr. (Suppl.) 450, 56–65 (2006c)

    Google Scholar 

  68. World Bank: World Development Indicators. The World Bank, Washington DC (2005)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  69. World Bank: World Development Report 2000/01: Attacking Poverty. Oxford University Press, New York (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  70. World Bank: Confronting AIDS. The World Bank, Washington DC (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  71. World Bank: World Development Report 1993: Investing in Health. Oxford University Press, New York (1993)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Göttingen, Platz der Göttinger Sieben 3, 37073, Göttingen, Germany

    Stephan Klasen

Authors
  1. Stephan Klasen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephan Klasen.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10888-008-9079-y

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Klasen, S. Poverty, undernutrition, and child mortality: Some inter-regional puzzles and their implicationsfor research and policy. J Econ Inequal 6, 89–115 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-007-9056-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10888-007-9056-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation