Malnutrition, Child Morbidity and the Family Decision Process

Abstract

This paper develops an econometric model of the nutritional and health status of pre-school children in developing countries. The model is addressed to three central issues: (1) What are the characteristics of the interaction between a child's nutritional status and its degree of risk to morbidity, particularly diarrhea? (2) What is the effect of alternative kinds of nutrient inputs on a child's nutritional status (e.g. nursing vs food expenditure)? (3) Is a child's nutritional and health status influenced by economic constraints on the family and its intra-family resource allocation decisions? The model is estimated on observations on the health and nutritional status of approximately 1200 children who participated over a 7 year period in the Promotora maternal-child program in Candelaria, Colombia. The results suggest that: (1) severe diarrhea substantially weakens a child's nutritional status, (2) acutely malnourished and stunted children are more susceptible to diarrhea (3) nursing in the first year is pivotal to a child's nutritional status, (4) one may view malnutrition and poor health as the consequence of family processes. The results support the hypothesis that both child competition and parental discrimination adversely influence nutritional status.