IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v33y2005i8p1285-1305.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Why Is Child Malnutrition Lower in Urban Than in Rural Areas? Evidence from 36 Developing Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Smith, Lisa C.
  • Ruel, Marie T.
  • Ndiaye, Aida

Abstract

"While ample evidence documents that urban children generally have better nutritional status than their rural counterparts, recent research suggests that urban malnutrition is on the rise. The environment, choices, and opportunities of urbanites differ greatly from those of rural dwellers' from employment conditions to social and family networks to access to health care and other services. Given these differences, understanding the relative importance of the various determinants of child malnutrition in urban and rural areas and especially whether they differ is key to designing context-relevant, effective program and policy responses for stemming malnutrition. This study uses Demographic and Health Survey data from 36 developing countries to address the question of whether the socioeconomic determinants of child nutritional status differ across urban and rural areas. The purpose is to answer the broader question of why child malnutrition rates are lower in urban areas. The socioeconomic determinants examined are women's education, women's status, access to safe water and sanitation, and household economic status. The analysis finds little evidence of differences in the nature of the socioeconomic determinants or in the strength of their associations with child nutritional status across urban and rural areas. As expected, however, it documents marked differences in the levels of these determinants in favor of urban areas. Large gaps in favor of urban areas are also found in the levels of key proximate determinants of child nutritional status, especially maternal prenatal and birthing care, quality of complementary feeding, and immunization of children. The conclusion is that better nutritional status of urban children is probably due to the cumulative effect of a series of more favorable socioeconomic conditions, which, in turn, seems to lead to better caring practices for children and their mothers. Given that the nature of the determinants of child nutritiona
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Smith, Lisa C. & Ruel, Marie T. & Ndiaye, Aida, 2005. "Why Is Child Malnutrition Lower in Urban Than in Rural Areas? Evidence from 36 Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(8), pages 1285-1305, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:33:y:2005:i:8:p:1285-1305
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305-750X(05)00077-X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

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

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Engle, Patrice L. & Menon, Purnima & Haddad, Lawrence J., 1996. "Care and nutrition: concepts and measurement," FCND discussion papers 18, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Cleland, John G. & van Ginneken, Jerome K., 1988. "Maternal education and child survival in developing countries: The search for pathways of influence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 1357-1368, January.
    3. Garrett, James L. & Ruel, Marie T., 1999. "Are determinants of rural and urban food security and nutritional status different?," FCND discussion papers 65, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Engle, Patrice L. & Garrett, James L. & Haddad, Lawrence James & Maxwell, Daniel G. & Menon, Purnima & Morris, Saul Sutkover & Oshaug, Arne & Ruel, Marie T. & Slack, Alison T., 1998. "Urban challenges to food and nutrition security," FCND discussion papers 51, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    5. Coj, Nora & Hallman, Kelly & Quisumbing, Agnes R. & Ruel, Marie T. & de la Briere, Benedicte, 2002. "Does subsidized childcare help poor working women in urban areas?," FCND briefs 131, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Deon Filmer & Lant Pritchett, 2001. "Estimating Wealth Effects Without Expenditure Data—Or Tears: An Application To Educational Enrollments In States Of India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(1), pages 115-132, February.
    7. Adato, Michelle & Haddad, Lawrence James, 2001. "How effectively do public works programs transfer benefits to the poor?," FCND briefs 108, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Morris, Saul S. & Levin, Carol E. & Armar-Klemesu, Margaret & Maxwell, Daniel & Ruel, Marie T., 1999. "Does Geographic Targeting of Nutrition Interventions Make Sense in Cities? Evidence from Abidjan and Accra," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(11), pages 2011-2019, November.
    9. Menon, Purnima & Ruel, Marie T. & Morris, Saul Sutkover, 2000. "Socio-economic differentials in child stunting are consistently larger in urban than rural areas," FCND discussion papers 97, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Ruel, Marie T. & Haddad, Lawrence & Garrett, James L., 1999. "Some Urban Facts of Life: Implications for Research and Policy," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(11), pages 1917-1938, November.
    11. Garrett, James L. & Ruel, Marie T., 1999. "Are Determinants of Rural and Urban Food Security and Nutritional Status Different? Some Insights from Mozambique," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(11), pages 1955-1975, November.
    12. Filmer, Deon & Pritchett, Lant, 1998. "Estimating wealth effects without expenditure data - or tears : with an application to educational enrollments in states of India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1994, The World Bank.
    13. Armar-Klemesu, Margaret & Levin, Carol E. & Maxwell, Daniel G. & Morris, Saul Sutkover & Ruel, Marie T., 2000. "The constraints to good child care practices in Accra," FCND briefs 81, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. Haddad, Lawrence & Ruel, Marie T. & Garrett, James L., 1999. "Are Urban Poverty and Undernutrition Growing? Some Newly Assembled Evidence," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(11), pages 1891-1904, November.
    15. Arimond, Mary & Ruel, Marie T., 2002. "Progress in developing an infant and child feeding index," FCND briefs 143, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Engle, Patrice L. & Menon, Purnima & Haddad, Lawrence, 1999. "Care and Nutrition: Concepts and Measurement," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(8), pages 1309-1337, August.
    17. Haddad, Lawrence James & Martorell, Reynaldo & Ndiaye, Aida & Ramakrishnan, Usha & Smith, Lisa C., 2003. "The importance of women's status for child nutrition in developing countries:," Research reports 131, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    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. Fatma El-Hamidi & Ragui Assaad & Ahmed Akhter, 2000. "The Determinants of Employment Status in Egypt," Working Paper 269, Department of Economics, University of Pittsburgh, revised Sep 2006.
    2. Marie T. Ruel & James L. Garrett, 2004. "Features of Urban Food and Nutrition Security and Considerations for Successful Urban Programming," The Electronic Journal of Agricultural and Development Economics, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, vol. 1(2), pages 242-271.
    3. Menon, Purnima & Ruel, Marie T., 2002. "Creating a child feeding index using the demographic and health surveys," FCND briefs 130, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Ruel, Marie T. & Levin, Carol E. & Armar-Klemesu, Margaret & Maxwell, Daniel & Morris, Saul S., 1999. "Good Care Practices Can Mitigate the Negative Effects of Poverty and Low Maternal Schooling on Children's Nutritional Status: Evidence from Accra," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(11), pages 1993-2009, November.
    5. Armar-Klemesu, Margaret & Levin, Carol E. & Maxwell, Daniel G. & Morris, Saul Sutkover & Ruel, Marie T., 1999. "Good care practices can mitigate the negative effects of poverty and low maternal schooling on children's nutritional status," FCND discussion papers 62, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Gutner, Tammi, 1999. "The political economy of Food subsidy reform in Egypt," FCND briefs 1, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    7. Rafael de Sousa Camelo & Priscilla Albuquerque Tavares & Carlos César Santejo Saiani, 2009. "Alimentação, Nutrição e Saúde em Programas de Transferência de Renda: Evidências para o Programa Bolsa Família," Economia, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics], vol. 10(4), pages 685-713.
    8. Arimond, Mary & Armar-Klemesu, Margaret & Ruel, Marie T., 2001. "A multiple-method approach to studying childcare in an urban environment," FCND briefs 116, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Ellen van de Poel & Owen O'Donnell & Eddy van Doorslaer, 2007. "Are Urban Children really healthier?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 07-035/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    10. Garrett, James L. & Haddad, Lawrence James & Ruel, Marie T., 1999. "Some urban facts of life," FCND discussion papers 64, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Richard Mussa, 2014. "A matching decomposition of the rural–urban difference in malnutrition in Malawi," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-10, December.
    12. Wiesmann, Doris, 2006. "A global hunger index: measurement concept, ranking of countries, and trends," FCND discussion papers 212, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    13. Van de Poel, Ellen & O'Donnell, Owen & Van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2007. "Are urban children really healthier? Evidence from 47 developing countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(10), pages 1986-2003, November.
    14. Emil Tesliuc & Margaret Grosh & Azedine Ouerghi & Carlo del Ninno, 2008. "For Protection and Promotion : The Design and Implementation of Effective Safety Nets," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6582.
    15. Ajieroh, Victor, 2009. "A quantitative analysis of determinants of child and maternal malnutrition in Nigeria," NSSP working papers 10, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    16. Rae Lesser Blumberg & Kara Dewhurst & Soham G. Sen, 2013. "Gender-inclusive Nutrition Activities in South Asia : Volume 2. Lessons from Global Experiences," World Bank Publications - Reports 15980, The World Bank Group.
    17. Aoun, Nael & Matsuda, Hirotaka & Sekiyama, Makiko, 2015. "Geographical accessibility to healthcare and malnutrition in Rwanda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 135-145.
    18. Rashid, Dewan Arif & Smith, Lisa C. & Rahman, Tauhidur, 2011. "Determinants of Dietary Quality: Evidence from Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 2221-2231.
    19. Mulubrhan Amare & Channing Arndt & Kibrom A Abay & Todd Benson, 2020. "Urbanization and Child Nutritional Outcomes," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(1), pages 63-74.
    20. Mesbah Fathy Sharaf & Ahmed Shoukry Rashad, 2016. "Regional inequalities in child malnutrition in Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen: a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-11, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:33:y:2005:i:8:p:1285-1305. 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.