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Socio-economic differentials in child stunting are consistently larger in urban than rural areas

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  • Menon, Purnima
  • Ruel, Marie T.
  • Morris, Saul Sutkover

Abstract

Urban-rural comparisons of childhood undernutrition suggest that urban populations are better-off than rural populations. However, these comparisons could mask the large differentials that exist among socioeconomic groups in urban areas. Data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for 11 countries from three regions were used to test the hypothesis that intra-urban differentials in child stunting were greater than intra-rural differentials, and that the prevalence of stunting among the urban and the rural poor was equally high. A socioeconomic status (SES) index based on household assets, housing quality, and availability of services was created separately for rural and urban areas of each country, using principal components analysis. In most countries, stunting in the poorest urban quintile was almost on par with that of poor rural dwellers. Thus, malnutrition in urban areas continues to be of concern, and effective targeting of nutrition programs to the poorest segments of the urban population will be critical to their success and cost-effectiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:fcnddp:97
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    1. Ernesto Cardenas & Ana María Osorio & Orlando Joaqui Barandica & Sayda Milena Pico Fonseca, 2022. "Mind the Gap! Socioeconomic Determinants of the Stunting Urban-Rural Gap for Children in Colombia," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(2), pages 415-432, April.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Prashant Kumar Singh & Rajesh Kumar Rai & Lucky Singh, 2012. "Examining the Effect of Household Wealth and Migration Status on Safe Delivery Care in Urban India, 1992–2006," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(9), pages 1-12, September.
    5. Ben Crow & Nichole Zlatunich & Brian Fulfrost, 2009. "Mapping global inequalities: Beyond income inequality to multi-dimensional inequalities," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(8), pages 1051-1065.
    6. David Coady & Emmanuel Skoufias, 2004. "On the Targeting and Redistributive Efficiencies of Alternative Transfer Instruments," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 50(1), pages 11-27, March.
    7. Smith, Lisa C. & Ruel, Marie T. & Ndiaye, Aida, 2004. "Why is child malnutrition lower in urban than rural areas?," FCND discussion papers 176, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    8. Abhishek Kumar & Aditya Singh, 2013. "Decomposing the Gap in Childhood Undernutrition between Poor and Non–Poor in Urban India, 2005–06," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(5), pages 1-9, May.
    9. Agee, Mark D., 2010. "Reducing child malnutrition in Nigeria: Combined effects of income growth and provision of information about mothers' access to health care services," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(11), pages 1973-1980, December.
    10. Hoddinott, John & Haddad, Lawrence James & Besley, Tim & Adato, Michelle, 2001. "Participation and poverty reduction," FCND discussion papers 98, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Md. Ahshanul Haque & Barbie Zaman Wahid & Md. Tariqujjaman & Mansura Khanam & Fahmida Dil Farzana & Mohammad Ali & Farina Naz & Kazi Istiaque Sanin & ASG Faruque & Tahmeed Ahmed, 2022. "Stunting Status of Ever-Married Adolescent Mothers and Its Association with Childhood Stunting with a Comparison by Geographical Region in Bangladesh," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-12, May.
    12. Sylvia Szabo & Sabu Padmadas & Jane Falkingham, 2018. "Is Rapid Urbanisation Exacerbating Wealth-Related Urban Inequalities in Child Nutritional Status? Evidence from Least Developed Countries," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 30(4), pages 630-651, September.
    13. 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.
    14. Ruel, Marie T. & Menon, Purnima, 2002. "Creating a child feeding index using the demographic and health surveys," FCND briefs 130, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    15. Zereyesus, Yacob & Ross, Kara & Shanoyan, Aleksan & Amanor-Boadu, Vincent, 2014. "Children First: Understanding Children’s Well-Being in Northern Ghana," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170653, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Abay, Kibrom A. & Amare, Mulubrhan, 2018. "Night light intensity and women’s body weight: Evidence from Nigeria," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 238-248.
    17. Simmons, Cynthia & Walker, Robert & Perz, Stephen & Aldrich, Stephen & Caldas, Marcellus & Pereira, Ritaumaria & Leite, Flavia & Fernandes, Luiz Claudio & Arima, Eugenio, 2010. "Doing it for Themselves: Direct Action Land Reform in the Brazilian Amazon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 429-444, March.
    18. Arimond, Mary & Ruel, Marie T., 2002. "Progress in developing an infant and child feeding index," FCND discussion papers 143, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    19. Ameye, Hannah & De Weerdt, Joachim, 2020. "Child health across the rural–urban spectrum," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    20. Claus C. Pörtner & Yu-hsuan Su, 2018. "Differences in Child Health Across Rural, Urban, and Slum Areas: Evidence From India," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 223-247, February.
    21. 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.

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