Factors influencing household pulse consumption in India: A multilevel model analysis

The effects of trade liberalization on inequality in nutrition intake: empirical evidence from Indian districts

BACKGROUND

Despite the positive impact of trade liberalization on food availability in India, severe inequality in nutrition consumption at the district level persists. Empirical evidence on the relationship between trade liberalization and nutrition consumption inequality often offers a country-level perspective and generates disputed outcomes. The study aimed to explore the effects of trade liberalization on inequality in nutrition consumption at the district level in India and to examine the heterogeneity of the impact on different nutrition consumption.

METHODS

Our study employed the Gini Index to measure nutrition consumption inequality of 2 macronutrients and 5 micronutrients at the district level in India during 2009-2011, utilizing the comprehensive FAO/WHO individual food consumption data. The import tariff was adopted as a proxy for trade liberalization, as its externally imposed nature facilitates a causal interpretation. We further identified the direct causal relationship between food trade liberalization and inequality in nutrition consumption using a fixed effects model.

RESULTS

The results show that more than 50% of the individuals in the survey districts did not meet the dietary standards for both macronutrients and micronutrients. Food trade liberalization hindered the improvement of inequality in nutrition consumption. As import tariffs were reduced by 1%, the inequality in intake of calories, zinc, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2 increased significantly by 0.45, 0.56, 0.48, and 0.66, respectively, which might be related to food market performance. The results also highlight the positive role of the gender gap, female-headed households, and caste culture on inequality in nutrition consumption in India.

CONCLUSIONS

To ease the shock of liberalization and minimize its inequality effects, complementary measures should be adopted, such as improving food logistic conditions in poor areas, and nutrition relief schemes.

Soil micronutrients linked to human health in India

Trace soil minerals are a critical determinant of both crop productivity and the mineral concentration of crops, therefore potentially impacting the nutritional status of human populations relying on those crops. We link health data from nearly 0.3 million children and one million adult women across India with over 27 million soil tests drawn from a nationwide soil health program. We find that soil zinc availability is positively associated with children's linear height growth, and soil iron availability is positively associated with hemoglobin levels. The link between soil zinc and childhood stunting is particularly robust-a one standard deviation increase in satisfactory soil zinc tests is associated with approximately 11 fewer children stunted per 1000. We also find that this zinc-stunting relationship is strongest in wealthier households. Our results suggest that soil mineral availability impacts human nutritional status and health in at least some areas of India, and that agronomic fortification may be a beneficial intervention.

The Effects of Social Network and Institutional Embeddedness on Household Consumption: Evidence from China Household Finance Survey

Consumer behavior is embedded in a certain social structure and social networks, and the scale and density of household social networks will be likely to affect consumption expenditure. To explore the impact of social networks and institutional embeddedness on household consumption, this study constructs a model of consumption influencing factors, and devises an empirical study using the data of China Household Finance Survey (CHFS). The results show some innovation. (1) The impact of household social networks on total household consumption is significant. A 1% increase in social networks spending boosts household consumption spending by 0.364%. (2) The institutional embeddedness will affect household consumption. Every 1% increase of social security account balance (the proxy variable of institutional embeddedness) can boost household consumption by 0.196%. This proves that the social insurance institution can enhance consumer confidence and promote current consumption growth. (3) The results of the robustness test confirmed that even after replacing the dependent variable with “the proportion of developmental consumption in total household consumption,” the influence of social networks and institutional embeddedness on consumption is still significant. Using the variable “communication expenses” instead of “gift income and expenditure” as the proxy variable of social networks, the estimation result is still robust. (4) Social networks have a significant influence on all types of household consumption except medical care consumption, but the degree of influence is different. Further discussion revealed that the estimation results are different for different regions in China, but the coefficients of core independent variables are not significantly different. This conclusion is different from people’s intuition, which holds that people in regions with low economic development rely more on social communication and spend more on social communication to maintain a certain social status. The conclusion of this paper is of great significance for formulating policies and institutions affecting residents’ consumption.