Effects of Food Price Shocks on Child Malnutrition: The Mozambican Experience 2008/09

Channing Arndt, M. Azhar Hussain, Vincenzo Salvucci and Lars Peter Østerdal

No 2015:4, DaCHE discussion papers from University of Southern Denmark, Dache - Danish Centre for Health Economics

Abstract: : A propitiously timed household survey carried out in Mozambique over the period 2008/09 permits us to study the relationship between pronounced shifts in food prices and child nutrition status. We focus on child malnutrition status in different survey quarters characterized by very different food price inflation rates. We find that the prevalence of wasting and underweight amongst under-five children is significantly lower in the fourth quarter, when the inflation rate for basic food products is low. Consistent with a short run shock such as a price shock, stunting rates and height-for-age Z-scores, which reflect longer run factors, are insignificantly different across quarters. We conclude that the best available evidence points to the food and fuel price crisis as substantially increasing malnutrition amongst under-five children in Mozambique during the period of the shock.

Keywords: food prices; inflation; child malnutrition; Mozambique (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C51 D12 I32 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 17 pages
Date: 2015-10-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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