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Another Mouth to Feed? The Effects of (In)Fertility on Malnutrition

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  • Robert Jensen

Abstract

Does high fertility contribute to child malnutrition in poor countries? We test this hypothesis using unanticipated fertility reductions caused by secondary infertility. Though not randomly assigned, we argue that infertility should be largely exogenous with respect to children's nutrition; or to the extent there is any correlation, we expect infertile couples to have less healthy children, biasing against our test. Using panel data from India, we find that children whose parents experience infertility are less likely to be underweight. The effects are large, and suggest that one-third of India's recent decline in malnutrition may be attributable to fertility reductions. (JEL codes: I15, J13, O15) Copyright The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Ifo Institute, Munich. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Jensen, 2012. "Another Mouth to Feed? The Effects of (In)Fertility on Malnutrition," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 58(2), pages 322-347, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cesifo:v:58:y:2012:i:2:p:322-347
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cesifo/ifs014
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alfano, Marco, 2022. "Islamic law and investments in children: Evidence from the Sharia introduction in Nigeria," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    2. Derek Headey & David Stifel & Liangzhi You & Zhe Guo, 2018. "Remoteness, urbanization, and child nutrition in sub‐Saharan Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(6), pages 765-775, November.
    3. Spears, Dean, 2020. "Exposure to open defecation can account for the Indian enigma of child height," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    4. Lnu,Anukriti & Herrera-Almanza,Catalina & Karra,Mahesh Venkat, 2022. "Bring a Friend : Strengthening Women’s Social Networks and Reproductive Autonomy in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10107, The World Bank.
    5. Anukriti, S. & Kwon, Sungoh & Prakash, Nishith, 2022. "Saving for dowry: Evidence from rural India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    6. Adriana D. Kugler & Santosh Kumar, 2017. "Preference for Boys, Family Size, and Educational Attainment in India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(3), pages 835-859, June.
    7. Sayli Javadekar & Kritika Saxena, 2021. "The Seen and the Unseen: Impact of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Prenatal Sex Selection," IHEID Working Papers 15-2021, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    8. Headey, Derek & Hoddinott, John & Ali, Disha & Tesfaye, Roman & Dereje, Mekdim, 2015. "The Other Asian Enigma: Explaining the Rapid Reduction of Undernutrition in Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 749-761.
    9. Ashwini Deshpande & Rajesh Ramachandran, 2020. "Which Indian Children are Short and Why? Social Identity, Childhood Malnutrition and Cognitive Outcomes," Working Papers 27, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    10. Aparajita Dasgupta & Anisha Sharma, 2021. "Can Legal Bans on Sex Detection Technology Reduce Gender Discrimination?," Working Papers 58, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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