Poverty, Undernutrition, and Child Mortality: Some Inter-Regional Puzzles and their Implications for Research and Policy

Stephan Klasen

No 2509, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper examines the relationship between measures of income poverty, undernourishment, childhood undernutrition, and child mortality in developing countries. While there is, as expected, a close aggregate correlation between these measures of deprivation, the measures generate some inter-regional paradoxes. Income poverty and child mortality is highest in Africa, but childhood undernutrition is by far the highest in South Asia, while the share of people with insufficient calories (undernourishment) is highest in the Caribbean. The paper finds that standard explanations cannot account for these inter-regional paradoxes, particularly the ones related to undernourishment and childhood undernutrition. The paper suggests that measurement issues related to the way undernourishment and childhood undernutrition is measured might play a significant role in affecting these inter-regional puzzles and points to implications for research and policy.

Keywords: child mortality; undernutrition; millennium development goals; poverty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I1 I3 O1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 31 pages
Date: 2006-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-dev and nep-hea
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published - published in: Journal of Economic Inequality, 2008, 6(1), 89-115

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Related works:
Journal Article: Poverty, undernutrition, and child mortality: Some inter-regional puzzles and their implicationsfor research and policy (2008)
Working Paper: Poverty, Undernutrition, and Child Mortality: Some Inter-Regional Puzzles and their Implications for Research and Policy (2007)
Working Paper: Poverty, Undernutrition, and Child Mortality: Some Inter-Regional Puzzles and their Implications for Research and Policy (2007)
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