The Cost of Consumption Smoothing: Less Schooling and less Nutrition

Leandro de Magalhaes, Dongya Koh and Räul Santaeulila-Llopis
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Dongya Koh: Uinversity of Arkansas
Räul Santaeulila-Llopis: MOVE-UAB and Bacelona GSE
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Raul Santaeulalia-Llopis ()

JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, 2019, vol. 85, issue 3, 181-208

Abstract: Using novel microdata, we explore lifecycle consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa. We find that households' ability to smooth consumption over the lifecycle is large, particularly, in rural areas. Consumption in old age is sustained by shifting to self-farmed staple food, as opposed to traditional savings mechanisms or food gifts. This smoothing strategy indicates two important costs. The first cost is a loss of human capital as children seem to be diverted away from school and into producing self-farmed food. Second, a diet largely concentrated in staple food (e.g., maize in Malawi) in old age results in a loss of nutritional quality for households headed by the elderly.

Keywords: Consumption; Smoothing; Lifecycle; Self-farming; Schooling; Nutrition; Sub-Saharan Afric (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E21 O11 R20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-09-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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https://doi.org/10.1017/dem.2019.7 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The costs of consumption smoothing: less schooling and less nutrition (2019)
Working Paper: The Costs of Consumption Smoothing: Less Schooling and Less Nutrition (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:85:y:2019:i:3:p:181-208

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