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Food insecurity and the relationship between household income and children's health and nutrition in Brazil

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  • Mauricio Reis

Abstract

Empirical evidence indicates that children living in wealthier households have better health. Food insecurity could be related to lack of adequate nutrition experienced by poor children and may be pointed out as one of the possible explanations for this relationship. This paper investigates the association between food insecurity and children's health and nutrition and the role of the former in the child health income gradient. Using data from the 2006 Brazilian Demographic and Health Survey, the results show that children living in households with food insecurity have worse nutrition and health indicators. In addition, the relationship between household income and many children's health and nutrition measures weakens but remains significant when controlling for food insecurity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Mauricio Reis, 2012. "Food insecurity and the relationship between household income and children's health and nutrition in Brazil," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(4), pages 405-427, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:21:y:2012:i:4:p:405-427
    DOI: 10.1002/hec.1722
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Otto Lenhart, 2021. "The effects of paid family leave on food insecurity—evidence from California," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 615-639, September.
    5. Evan Wigton-Jones, 2020. "Legacies of inequality: the case of Brazil," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 25(4), pages 455-501, December.
    6. Palanisamy, Venkatesh & Vellaichamy, Sangeetha & Sendhil, R & Jha, Girish Kumar, 2021. "Does Food Security Influence the Nutritional Status in India? Empirical Evidences from State-Level Cross Sectional Study," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315230, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Zeng, Di & Alwang, Jeffrey Roger & Norton, George & Shiferaw, Bekele & Jaleta, Moti & Yirga, Chilot, 2014. "Agricultural Technology Adoption and Child Nutrition: Improved Maize Varieties in Rural Ethiopia," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 171427, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Jiyoon Kim & Otto Lenhart, 2024. "Paid family leave and the fight against hunger: Evidence from New York," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1503-1527, July.
    9. Olufunke A. Alaba & Charles Hongoro & Aquina Thulare & Akim Tafadzwa Lukwa, 2021. "Leaving No Child Behind: Decomposing Socioeconomic Inequalities in Child Health for India and South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-18, July.

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