IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/2967.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Malnutrition and poverty in Guatemala

Author

Listed:
  • Marini, Alessandra
  • Gragnolati, Michele

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to document the extent, and distribution of child, and adult malnutrition in Guatemala; to analyze the relationship between selected child, maternal, household and community characteristics, and children's nutritional status; and, to outline the implications of the most important findings for nutritional policy. The prevalence of chronic malnutrition among Guatemalan children in 2000, was the highest in Latin America, and among the highest in the world. The data show very strong socioeconomic, and geographic inequality. The econometric analysis reveals a strong impact of income, and of inter-generational effects. Education of adults in the household, and the availability of infrastructure, are other important determinants of children's growth attainment. Finally, even controlling for income, and other household and community characteristics, ethnicity remains an important determinant of child nutritional status. The study also reveals an increasing prevalence of excess weights, and obesity among children and adults. Over-nutrition tends to be higher among individuals living in urban areas, and among non-poor, and non-indigenous households.

Suggested Citation

  • Marini, Alessandra & Gragnolati, Michele, 2003. "Malnutrition and poverty in Guatemala," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2967, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2967
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2003/02/22/000094946_03020804020125/Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Horton, Susan, 1988. "Birth Order and Child Nutritional Status: Evidence from the Philippines," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(2), pages 341-354, January.
    2. Alderman, Harold & Garcia, Marito, 1994. "Food Security and Health Security: Explaining the Levels of Nutritional Status in Pakistan," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(3), pages 485-507, April.
    3. Margaret Grosh & Paul Glewwe, 2000. "Designing Household Survey Questionnaires for Developing Countries," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 25338.
    4. Anne Pebley & Paul Stupp, 1987. "Reproductive patterns and child mortality in guatemala," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 24(1), pages 43-60, February.
    5. Thomas, Duncan & Strauss, John, 1992. "Prices, infrastructure, household characteristics and child height," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 301-331, October.
    6. Lavy, Victor & Strauss, John & Thomas, Duncan & de Vreyer, Philippe, 1996. "Quality of health care, survival and health outcomes in Ghana," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 333-357, June.
    7. Behrman, Jere R. & Deolalikar, Anil B., 1988. "Health and nutrition," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 14, pages 631-711, Elsevier.
    8. Barrett, Christopher B., 2002. "Food security and food assistance programs," Handbook of Agricultural Economics, in: B. L. Gardner & G. C. Rausser (ed.), Handbook of Agricultural Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 40, pages 2103-2190, Elsevier.
    9. Behrman, Jere R. & Wolfe, Barbara L., 1987. "How does mother's schooling affect family health, nutrition, medical care usage, and household sanitation?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-2), pages 185-204.
    10. Sahn, David E. & Alderman, Harold, 1997. "On the determinants of nutrition in Mozambique: The importance of age-specific effects," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 577-588, January.
    11. Strauss, John & Thomas, Duncan, 1995. "Human resources: Empirical modeling of household and family decisions," Handbook of Development Economics, in: Hollis Chenery & T.N. Srinivasan (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 34, pages 1883-2023, Elsevier.
    12. Thomas, Duncan & Strauss, John & Henriques, Maria-Helena, 1990. "Child survival, height for age and household characteristics in Brazil," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 197-234, October.
    13. Strauss, J. & Thomas, D., 1995. "Empirical Modeling of Household and Family Decisions," Papers 95-12, RAND - Reprint Series.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sabina Alkire, Maria Emma Santos, 2010. "Acute Multidimensional Poverty: A New Index for Developing Countries," OPHI Working Papers 38, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    2. Omilola, Babatunde, 2010. "Patterns and trends of child and maternal nutrition inequalities in Nigeria," IFPRI discussion papers 968, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Juliana Yael Milovich & Elena Villar, 2020. "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child. Impact Evaluation of the Training for Volunteers in Health and the Nutritional Recovery Cycles in West Guatemala," EconomiX Working Papers 2020-14, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    4. Stamoulis, Kostas & Zezza, Alberto, 2003. "A conceptual framework for national agricultural, rural development, and food security strategies and policies," ESA Working Papers 289082, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA).
    5. David E. Sahn & Stephen D. Younger, 2009. "Measuring intra‐household health inequality: explorations using the body mass index," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(S1), pages 13-36, April.
    6. Zezza, Alberto & Tasciotti, Luca, 2010. "Urban agriculture, poverty, and food security: Empirical evidence from a sample of developing countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 265-273, August.
    7. Carletto, Calogero & Covarrubias, Katia & Maluccio, John A., 2011. "Migration and child growth in rural Guatemala," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 16-27, February.
    8. Ephraim W Chirwa & Harold Pe Ngalawa, 2008. "Determinants Of Child Nutrition In Malawi," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 76(4), pages 628-640, December.
    9. Nagata, Jason M. & Valeggia, Claudia R. & Barg, Frances K. & Bream, Kent D.W., 2009. "Body mass index, socio-economic status and socio-behavioral practices among Tz'utujil Maya women," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 96-106, March.
    10. Jason Davis & Noli Brazil, 2016. "Migration, Remittances and Nutrition Outcomes of Left-Behind Children: A National-Level Quantitative Assessment of Guatemala," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(3), pages 1-17, March.
    11. Sweeney, Stuart & Davenport, Frank & Grace, Kathryn, 2013. "Combining insights from quantile and ordinal regression: Child malnutrition in Guatemala," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 164-177.
    12. Alcaraz V., Gabriela & Zeller, Manfred, 2009. "Insights from the Guatemalan food system: an application of exploratory spatial data analysis techniques for food security analysis," 2009 Conference, August 16-22, 2009, Beijing, China 51488, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    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. Lindelow, Magnus, 2004. "Health care decisions as a family matter - intra-household education externalities and the utilization of health services," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3324, The World Bank.
    2. 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).
    3. Alejandro Ramirez & Gustav Ranis, 1997. "Economic Growth and Human Development," Working Papers 787, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    4. Tilman Bruck, "undated". "Determinants of Rural Poverty in Post-War Mozambique: Evidence from a Household Survey and Implications for Government and Donor Policy," QEH Working Papers qehwps67, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford.
    5. Hoddinott, John, 1997. "Water, health, and income," FCND discussion papers 25, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    6. Gustav Ranis & Frances Stewart, 2000. "Strategies for Success in Human Development," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 49-69.
    7. Aslam, Monazza & Kingdon, Geeta Gandhi, 2012. "Parental Education and Child Health—Understanding the Pathways of Impact in Pakistan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 2014-2032.
    8. Gustav Ranis, 2000. "Strategies for Success in Human Development," Working Papers 808, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    9. Jere R. Behrman, 1994. "Intra-family Distribution in Developing Countries," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 33(3), pages 253-296.
    10. Mansuri, Ghazala, 2006. "Migration,sex bias, and child growth in rural Pakistan," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3946, The World Bank.
    11. Behrman, Jere R. & Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2004. "Correlates and determinants of child anthropometrics in Latin America: background and overview of the symposium," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 335-351, December.
    12. Steven Block, 2002. "Nutrition Knowledge Versus Schooling in the Demand for Child Micronutrient Status," Working Papers in Food Policy and Nutrition 10, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
    13. Denisard Alves & Walter Belluzzo, 2005. "Child Health and Infant Mortality in Brazil," Research Department Publications 3187, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    14. Steven Block, 2003. "Nutrition Knowledge, Household Coping, and the Demand for Micronutrient-Rich Foods," Working Papers in Food Policy and Nutrition 20, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
    15. Tchouassi Gérard & Ngwen Ngangue, 2014. "Determinants of Children’s Health for Human Capital Accumulation: Empirical Analysis," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 4(11), pages 1622-1637, November.
    16. Thomas, Duncan & Lavy, Victor & Strauss, John, 1996. "Public policy and anthropometric outcomes in the Cote d'Ivoire," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 155-192, August.
    17. Harsha Aturupane & Anil B. Deolalikar & Dileni Gunewardena, 2008. "The Determinants of Child Weight and Height in Sri Lanka: A Quantile Regression Approach," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-53, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    18. Skoufias, Emmanuel, 1998. "Determinants of child health during the economic transition in Romania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(11), pages 2045-2056, November.
    19. Penders, Christopher L. & Staatz, John M., 2001. "The Impact Of Household Level Determinants Of Child Health And Nutrition: Cross-Country Evidence From West Africa," Staff Paper Series 11579, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    20. Ranis, Gustav & Stewart, Frances & Ramirez, Alejandro, 2000. "Economic Growth and Human Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 197-219, February.

    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:wbk:wbrwps:2967. 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: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    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.