IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v68y2015icp82-95.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fuelling Calorie Intake Decline: Household-Level Evidence from Rural India

Author

Listed:
  • Basole, Amit
  • Basu, Deepankar

Abstract

In India, average calorie intake has declined even as real monthly expenditure has increased. Since cross sectional evidence suggests a positive relationship between the two variables, the trend emerges as a major puzzle. Using household-level data from four recent rounds of National Sample Survey data on consumption expenditure and a novel instrumental variable estimation strategy we find that rising expenditure on non-food items is one of the factors that has led to the calorie intake decline. We provide causal evidence for such a food budget squeeze in the case of one type of non-food item, viz. expenditures on cooking fuel.

Suggested Citation

  • Basole, Amit & Basu, Deepankar, 2015. "Fuelling Calorie Intake Decline: Household-Level Evidence from Rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 82-95.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:68:y:2015:i:c:p:82-95
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.11.020
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14003854
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.11.020?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Raghav Gaiha & Raghbendra Jha & Vani S. Kulkarni, 2009. "How Pervasive is Eating Out in India?," ASARC Working Papers 2009-17, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    2. Narasimha Rao, M. & Reddy, B. Sudhakara, 2007. "Variations in energy use by Indian households: An analysis of micro level data," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 143-153.
    3. Subramanian, Shankar & Deaton, Angus, 1996. "The Demand for Food and Calories," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(1), pages 133-162, February.
    4. Jha, Raghbendra & Gaiha, Raghav & Sharma, Anurag, 2009. "Calorie and Micronutrient Deprivation and Poverty Nutrition Traps in Rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 982-991, May.
    5. repec:pri:rpdevs:deaton_price_trends_in_india_version_3_jan_08_all is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Balakrishnan, Pulapre, 2010. "Economic Growth in India: History and Prospect," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198065470.
    7. Viswanathan, Brinda & Kavi Kumar, K. S., 2005. "Cooking fuel use patterns in India: 1983-2000," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1021-1036, May.
    8. Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2003. "Is the Calorie-Income Elasticity Sensitive to Price Changes? Evidence from Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1291-1307, July.
    9. Deepankar Basu & Amit Basole, 2012. "The Calorie Consumption Puzzle in India: An Empirical Investigation," Working Papers wp285, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    10. Cooke, Priscilla & Kã–Hlin, Gunnar & Hyde, William F., 2008. "Fuelwood, forests and community management – evidence from household studies," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(1), pages 103-135, February.
    11. Behrman, Jere R & Deolalikar, Anil B, 1987. "Will Developing Country Nutrition Improve with Income? A Case Study for Rural South India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(3), pages 492-507, June.
    12. Rasmus Heltberg & Thomas Channing Arndt & Nagothu Udaya Sekhar, 2000. "Fuelwood Consumption and Forest Degradation: A Household Model for Domestic Energy Substitution in Rural India," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 76(2), pages 213-232.
    13. repec:pri:rpdevs:deaton_price_trends_in_india_version_3_jan_08_all.pdf is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Pachauri, Shonali & Jiang, Leiwen, 2008. "The household energy transition in India and China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(11), pages 4022-4035, November.
    15. Raghav Gaiha & Raghbendra Jha & Vani S. Kulkarni, 2010. "Affluence, Obesity and Non-Communicable Diseases in India," ASARC Working Papers 2010-08, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    16. Gundimeda, Haripriya & Kohlin, Gunnar, 2008. "Fuel demand elasticities for energy and environmental policies: Indian sample survey evidence," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 517-546, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Malla, Sunil & Timilsina, Govinda R, 2014. "Household cooking fuel choice and adoption of improved cookstoves in developing countries : a review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6903, The World Bank.
    2. Cheng, Chao-yo & Urpelainen, Johannes, 2014. "Fuel stacking in India: Changes in the cooking and lighting mix, 1987–2010," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 306-317.
    3. Khalid Waleed & Faisal Mehmood Mirza, 2023. "Examining fuel choice patterns through household energy transition index: an alternative to traditional energy ladder and stacking models," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6449-6501, July.
    4. Jack Gregory & David I. Stern, 2012. "Fuel Choices in Rural Maharashtra," CCEP Working Papers 1207, Centre for Climate & Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    5. Christophe Muller & Huijie Yan, 2018. "Household Fuel Use in Rural China," AMSE Working Papers 1808, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    6. Pallegedara, Asankha & Mottaleb, Khondoker Abdul & Rahut, Dil Bahadur, 2021. "Exploring choice and expenditure on energy for domestic works by the Sri Lankan households: Implications for policy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    7. Mottaleb, Khondoker Abdul & Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Ali, Akhter, 2017. "An exploration into the household energy choice and expenditure in Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 767-776.
    8. Gebru, Bahre & Elofsson, Katarina, 2023. "The role of forest status in households’ fuel choice in Uganda," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    9. Mestl, Heidi Elizabeth Staff & Eskeland, Gunnar S., 2009. "Richer and healthier, but not Greener? Choices concerning household energy use in India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 3009-3019, August.
    10. Ahmed Moustapha Mfokeu & Elie Virgile Chrysostome & Jean-Pierre Gueyie & Olivier Ebenezer Mun Ngapna, 2023. "Consumer Motivation behind the Use of Ecological Charcoal in Cameroon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-22, January.
    11. Jing You & Katsushi S. Imai & Raghav Gaiha, 2014. "Decoding the Growth-Nutrition Nexus in China: Inequality, Uncertainty and Food Insecurity," Discussion Paper Series DP2014-28, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University, revised Dec 2014.
    12. Chandana Maitra & Sriram Shankar & D.S. Prasada Rao, 2016. "Income Poor or Calorie Poor? Who should get the Subsidy?," Discussion Papers Series 564, School of Economics, University of Queensland, Australia.
    13. Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Behera, Bhagirath & Ali, Akhter, 2016. "Patterns and determinants of household use of fuels for cooking: Empirical evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 117(P1), pages 93-104.
    14. Tankari, Mahamadou R., 2014. "L’élasticité calorie-revenu est-elle faible au Niger ?," Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement, Editions NecPlus, vol. 95(04), pages 473-491, December.
    15. Jean-Marie Baland & François Libois & Dilip Mookherjee, 2018. "Forest Degradation and Economic Growth in Nepal, 2003–2010," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(2), pages 401-439.
    16. Smith, Lisa C., 2015. "The great Indian calorie debate: Explaining rising undernourishment during India’s rapid economic growth," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 53-67.
    17. Emmanuel Skoufias & Vincenzo Di Maro & Teresa González‐Cossío & Sonia Rodríguez Ramírez, 2009. "Nutrient consumption and household income in rural Mexico," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(6), pages 657-675, November.
    18. Xin Meng & Xiaodong Gong & Youjuan Wang, 2009. "Impact of Income Growth and Economic Reform on Nutrition Availability in Urban China: 1986-2000," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 57(2), pages 261-295, January.
    19. De Zhou & Xiaohua Yu, 2015. "Calorie Elasticities with Income Dynamics: Evidence from the Literature," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 37(4), pages 575-601.
    20. Niklas Vahlne & Erik O. Ahlgren, 2014. "Energy Efficiency at the Base of the Pyramid: A System-Based Market Model for Improved Cooking Stove Adoption," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(12), pages 1-21, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:68:y:2015:i:c:p:82-95. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.