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Up in Smoke: Tobacco Use, Expenditure on Food, and Child Malnutrition in Developing Countries

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  • Steven Block
  • Patrick Webb

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of expenditure on smoking products in low-income households on child nutrition, as mediated via reduced food expenditure. On the basis of data from a large household survey in rural Indonesia, the study finds that low-income households containing at least one smoker tend to divert a significant amount of scarce income to tobacco products and that relatively more of the diversion is drawn from food than from nonfood purchases. This results in a real decline in the quantity and quality of food consumed in the poorest households, which is associated with a statistically significant reduction in the nutritional status of children in those households. In other words, parental smoking increases child malnutrition via its displacement effect on food consumption-an intuitive but rarely documented empirical finding. Attention is needed to finding appropriate mechanisms for enhancing food and nutrition in poorest households in tandem with investments in public health information systems that highlight these indirect, as well as direct, links between smoking and child well-being. (c) 2009 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

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  • Steven Block & Patrick Webb, 2009. "Up in Smoke: Tobacco Use, Expenditure on Food, and Child Malnutrition in Developing Countries," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(1), pages 1-23, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:v:58:y:2009:i:1:p:1-23
    DOI: 10.1086/605207
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. World Bank, 2006. "Making the New Indonesia Work for the Poor," World Bank Publications - Reports 8172, The World Bank Group.
    2. Jha, Prabhat & Chaloupka, Frank (ed.), 2000. "Tobacco Control in Developing Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192632463.
    3. Susan H. Busch & Mireia Jofre-Bonet & Tracy A. Falba & Jody L. Sindelar, 2004. "Tobacco Spending and its Crowd-Out of Other Goods," NBER Working Papers 10974, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Wang, Hong & Sindelar, Jody L. & Busch, Susan H., 2006. "The impact of tobacco expenditure on household consumption patterns in rural China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 1414-1426, March.
    5. John, Rijo M., 2008. "Crowding out effect of tobacco expenditure and its implications on household resource allocation in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(6), pages 1356-1367, March.
    6. Webb, Patrick & Block, Steven, 2004. "Nutrition Information and Formal Schooling as Inputs to Child Nutrition," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(4), pages 801-820, July.
    7. Steven Block, 2004. "Maternal Nutrition Knowledge and the Demand for Micronutrient-Rich Foods: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(6), pages 82-105.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Gallego, J. M & Paraje, G & Rodríguez-Lesmes, P, 2022. "Inequality of the crowding-out effect of tobacco expenditure in Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo 20304, Universidad del Rosario.
    3. Mohamed Arouri & Adel Ben-Youssef & Cuong Nguyen Viet, 2017. "Does having more children increase the likelihood of parental smoking? Evidence from Vietnam," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 260-275, July.
    4. Jin, Hyun Joung & Cho, Sung Min, 2021. "Effects of cigarette price increase on fresh food expenditures of low-income South Korean households that spend relatively more on cigarettes," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(1), pages 75-82.
    5. Emediegwu, Lotanna E. & Rogna, Marco, 2024. "Agricultural commodities’ price transmission from international to local markets in developing countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    6. Grieve Chelwa & Steven F Koch, 2019. "The effect of tobacco expenditure on expenditure shares in South African households: A genetic matching approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, September.
    7. Firman Witoelar & John Strauss & Bondan Sikoki, 2009. "Socioeconomic Success and Health in Later Life Evidence from the Indonesia Family Life Survey," Working Papers WR-704, RAND Corporation.
    8. Adrianna Bella & Teguh Dartanto & Dimitri Swasthika Nurshadrina & Gita Kusnadi & Faizal Rahmanto Moeis & Renny Nurhasana & Aryana Satrya & Hasbullah Thabrany, 2023. "Do parental Smoking Behaviors Affect Children's Thinness, Stunting, and Overweight Status in Indonesia? Evidence from a Large-Scale Longitudinal Survey," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 714-726, September.

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