Are urban poverty and undernutrition growing? some newly assembled evidence
TL;DR: It is found that the absolute number of urban poor is increasing, as is the share of overall poverty and undernourishment coming from urban areas, and more research needs to be done on alleviation of poverty in urban areas.
About: This article is published in World Development.The article was published on 1999-11-01 and is currently open access. It has received 410 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Poverty & Population.
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TL;DR: To prevent increasing morbidity and mortality due to obesity-related T2DM and cardiovascular disease in developing countries, there is an urgent need to initiate large-scale community intervention programs focusing on increased physical activity and healthier food options, particularly for children.
Abstract: Context: Prevalence of obesity and the metabolic syndrome is rapidly increasing in developing countries, leading to increased morbidity and mortality due to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease. Evidence Acquisition: Literature search was carried out using the terms obesity, insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, dyslipidemia, nutrition, physical activity, and developing countries, from PubMed from 1966 to June 2008 and from web sites and published documents of the World Health Organization and Food and Agricultural Organization. Evidence Synthesis: With improvement in economic situation in developing countries, increasing prevalence of obesity and the metabolic syndrome is seen in adults and particularly in children. The main causes are increasing urbanization, nutrition transition, and reduced physical activity. Furthermore, aggressive community nutrition intervention programs for undernourished children may increase obesity. Some evidence suggests that widely preval...
1,074 citations
TL;DR: Broad shifts are occurring at a rapid pace in the structure of diet, physical activity patterns, and obesity patterns in urban areas in lower income countries, particularly their urban populations.
709 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined whether dietary diversity, defined as the number of unique foods consumed over a given period of time, provides information on household food security, and found that dietary diversity would appear to show promise as a means of measuring food security and monitoring changes and impact, particularly when resources available for such measurement are scarce.
Abstract: Household food security is an important measure of well-being. Although it may not encapsulate all dimensions of poverty, the inability of households to obtain access to enough food for an active, healthy life is surely an important component of their poverty. Accordingly, devising an appropriate measure of food security outcomes is useful in order to identify the food insecure, assess the severity of their food shortfall, characterize the nature of their insecurity (for example, seasonal versus chronic), predict who is most at risk of future hunger, monitor changes in circumstances, and assess the impact of interventions. However, obtaining detailed data on food security status—such as 24- hour recall data on caloric intakes—can be time consuming and expensive and require a high level of technical skill both in data collection and analysis. This paper examines whether an alternative indicator, dietary diversity, defined as the number of unique foods consumed over a given period of time, provides information on household food security. It draws on data from 10 countries (India, the Philippines, Mozambique, Mexico, Bangladesh, Egypt, Mali, Malawi, Ghana, and Kenya) that encompass both poor and middle-income countries, rural and urban sectors, data collected in different seasons, and data on calories acquisition obtained using two different methods. ....[D]ietary diversity would appear to show promise as a means of measuring food security and monitoring changes and impact, particularly when resources available for such measurement are scarce.
552 citations
TL;DR: The impact evaluation of a conditional cash transfer program was performed by the Nicaraguan Red de Proteccion Social (RPS) as discussed by the authors, which evaluated the effectiveness of the program.
Abstract: Impact evaluation of a conditional cash transfer program :the Nicaraguan Red de Proteccion Social , Impact evaluation of a conditional cash transfer program :the Nicaraguan Red de Proteccion Social , مرکز فناوری اطلاعات و اطلاع رسانی کشاورزی
538 citations
DOI•
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present measures of individual characteristics that are highly correlated with bargaining power, namely human capital and individually controlled assets, evaluated at the time of marriage and find that assets controlled by women have a positive and significant effect on expenditure allocations toward the next generation.
Abstract: The paper reviews recent theory and empirical evidence testing unitary versus collective models of the household In contrast to the unitary model, the collective model posits that individuals within households have different preferences and do not pool their income Moreover, the collective model predicts that intrahousehold allocations reflect differences in preferences and "bargaining power" of individuals within the household Using new household data sets from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and South Africa, we present measures of individual characteristics that are highly correlated with bargaining power, namely human capital and individually-controlled assets, evaluated at the time of marriage In all country case studies we reject the unitary model as a description of household behavior, but to different degrees Results suggest that assets controlled by women have a positive and significant effect on expenditure allocations toward the next generation, such as education and children's clothing We also examine individual-level education outcomes and find that parents do not have identical preferences toward sons and daughters within or across countries
531 citations
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1,836 citations
TL;DR: This paper studied the relationship between social norms and social perceptions in intra-household gender dynamics, and found that women are less motivated than men by self-interest and might this affect bargaining outcomes.
Abstract: Highlighting the problems posed by a ''unitary'' conceptualization of the household, a number of economists have in recent years proposed alternative models. These models, especially those embodying the bargaining approach, provide a useful framework for analyzing gender relations and throwing some light on how gender asymmetries are constructed and contested. At the same time, the models have paid inadequate or no attention to some critical aspects of intra-household gender dynamics, such as: What factors (especially qualitative ones) affect bargaining power? What is the role of social norms and social perceptions in the bargaining process and how might these factors themselves be bargained over? Are women less motivated than men by self-interest and might this affect bargaining outcomes? Most discussions on bargaining also say little about gender relations beyond the household, and about the links between extra-household and intra-household bargaining power. This paper spells out the nature of these com...
1,530 citations
Book•
01 Dec 1999
TL;DR: This research report examines the success of the efforts of the past 25 years to reduce preschooler undernutrition and uses an econometric model to identify the factors associated with the reduction in undernutrition.
Abstract: "One in three pre-school children in the developing world is undernourished. As a consequence, their human rights are violated. In addition, they are more likely to have impaired immune systems, poorer cognitive development, lower productivity as adults, and greater susceptibility to diet-related chronic diseases such as hypertension and coronary heart disease later in life. Undernourished female preschoolers are likely to grow into undernourished young women who are more likely to give birth to babies who are undernourished even before they are born, thus perpetuating the inter-generational transmission of deprivation. Reducing these unacceptably high numbers remains a tremendous challenge to public policy. As a guide to the direction of future efforts, this research report examines the success of the efforts of the past 25 years to reduce preschooler undernutrition. The report uses an econometric model to identify the factors associated with the reduction in undernutrition. The formulation of the econometric model is guided by the widely accepted food-care-health conceptual model of child growth. The contributions of both underlying and basic determinants to reductions in undernutrition are assessed using the model. The potential of these factors to further reduce undernutrition is evaluated in a region-by-region priority-setting exercise. In addition, projections of child nutrition are made under various scenarios to the year 2020. What will it take to dramatically reduce undernutrition in the next 20 years? The report attempts some broad answers to these questions..." (Forward by Per Pinstrup-Andersen)
873 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the frequency and severity of strategies relied on by urban households when faced with a short-term insufficiency of food is investigated. But, the method goes beyond more commonly-used measures of caloric consumption to incorporate vulnerability elements of food insecurity, as well as the deliberate actions of household decision-makers.
631 citations