Diet quality rather than caloric intake associated with labour wages in Kenya

Estefanía Custodio (), Sofía Jiménez (), María Priscila Ramos (), Martina Sartori () and Emanuele Ferrari
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Estefanía Custodio: Instituto de Salud Carlos III
Sofía Jiménez: Universidad de Zaragoza
María Priscila Ramos: Universidad de Buenos Aires
Martina Sartori: European Commission

Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, 2025, vol. 17, issue 2, No 2, 345-361

Abstract: Abstract Malnutrition, in all its forms, poses a significant threat to human development and economic growth. Consequently, enhancing food security and consumption is a moral and social imperative for fostering development. Despite the substantial evidence on the relationship between caloric intake and labour productivity, research on the connection between labour productivity and diet quality, measured by micronutrient intake, is scarce. This paper, focusing on Kenya, estimates the linkages between micronutrient intake and labour productivity, measured by household labour income. The daily intakes of energy and micronutrients per adult male equivalent at the household level is computed employing food consumption data collected in the 2015–2016 Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey. Econometric results show that daily micronutrient (haem iron, zinc, folate, calcium, vitamins B2 and A) intakes are significantly and positively correlated with labour productivity. The quality of diets, reflected by micronutrient intakes, has a bigger impact on labour productivity than the daily energy consumed, measured by caloric intake. This paper contributes to the nutrition–productivity literature and provides a basis for designing policies to improve the nutritional quality of diets.

Keywords: Micronutrient intakes; Labour productivity; Micro-econometric estimation; Kenya; Diet quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s12571-025-01523-x

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