Household vulnerability to food crisis and mortality in the drought-prone areas of northern Ethiopia

This study examines the association between a household's degree of vulnerability to food crisis and the incidence of deaths using primary survey data carried out to look at the demographic consequences of drought and famine in the drought-prone areas of northern Ethiopia. Retrospective data on the occurrences of deaths within a household were collected for the period 1984 to 1994. Consistent with previous studies, the findings confirm that mortality was clustered among the age groups 1-4 and 5-9 and varied considerably by famine and non-famine years. Enormous variation in incidence of deaths was also observed by region, ethnicity and religion. Most importantly, the analysis provides substantial evidence that the level of household vulnerability to food crisis is strongly related to the number of hunger-related deaths reported in a household.

Intrahousehold allocation of energy intake among children under five years and their parents in rural Bangladesh

OBJECTIVE

This study assesses intrahousehold allocation of energy in rural Bangladesh and tests the hypothesis that, when daily energy intake is adjusted for energy expenditure, no age or gender bias will be apparent in intrahousehold energy allocation.

DESIGN

Data were collected at two-month intervals over a one year study.

SETTING

Four villages in Matlab Thana, rural Bangladesh.

SUBJECTS

Two hundred and seven children up to 5 y of age and their 145 mothers and 123 fathers.

INTERVENTIONS

Data included six measurements of observed 24 h dietary energy intake and physical activity recorded from waking to sleeping. Total daily energy expenditure was derived using the factorial method.

RESULTS

Women's energy intake ranged from 75-88% of the FAO/WHO recommended energy intake over the six periods of data collection, significantly less (P < 0.0001) than the men's (range 89-114%). Although the women had moderate levels of physical activity, frequent pregnancies and long lactation periods increased their energy needs. Among children no longer breast fed, energy consumption, unadjusted for energy expenditure, provided 86-108% of the FAO/WHO recommended energy intake by weight.

CONCLUSIONS

Women consistently received less of their energy requirements than either their children or their husbands.

[An approach to food consumption in an urban environment. The case of west Africa]

West Africa has undergone rapid economic and political changes during the last 20 years. After the failure of economic policies implemented since independence, programs for structural adjustment have strongly influenced the economy. Food problems affect each country differently. The Sahel has experienced food shortages and starvation whereas in forested countries the food supply has remained stable. Nevertheless, food policies have not succeeded in contributing to urban and rural development. The rate of urbanization in west Africa is generally low but the rate of urban population growth is particularly high, much more than the growth rates of industry and infrastructure. Although metropolitan areas are affected by poverty, they offer more hope and opportunities than rural areas. Urban markets have expanded and diversified as social differences have also increased and contributed to changes in consumption structure. Urban growth has contributed to the increase of imported food: this is indicated by both the strong dependency and the change of food habits towards western food patterns. Recently however, west African urban dwellers are still preferring local items if they are affordable. When imported products are used, they are integrated within a stable meal plan consisting of a single dish with a base and a sauce, which is typical of African food preparation. Surveys of consumption-budgets are still only available on a national scale. These can provide accurate information about food consumption patterns of families, particularly for significant trends. However, they do not provide information about the dynamics of food consumption, neither for urban areas or the individual. Now a significant proportion of individual food consumption occurs outside of the home, mainly with food provided by street vendors. This new consumption habit is a response to the urban food crisis. Consumption of street-vendor-food comprises one component but this cannot be dissociated from in-home food consumption. Despite the growing importance of street-vendor food consumption, it has still not been adequately documented. Theoretically, food consumption is an evolving concept. Single disciplines, such as economics or nutrition, first studied food consumption. More recently, social sciences developed new approaches with various interpretations, which were sometimes contradictory. The evolution of urban food consumption and the numerous related problems support the approach proposed by some authors suggesting a mixed analysis integrating both economics and cultural factors. Operationally, a global and dynamic approach to food styles must consider urban heterogeneity and diversity of situations. For example, food consumption by people maintaining their in-home food habits shows the pertinence of studies focusing on individuals. Therefore, the food course concept may be a useful method for the study of food consumption.

Changing demographics and state fiscal outlook: the case of sales taxes

"Broad-scale demographic changes have implications for state and local finance in terms of the composition of the base of revenue sources and their yields. This article examines the effect of such changes on the potential future yield of consumption-based taxes. The effect of household characteristics and composition on the consumption of selected groups of goods subject to ad valorem retail sales taxes is estimated, generating demographic elasticities of consumption. These elasticities are applied to projected demographic changes in eight states through the year 2000. The results show rather wide variation in expected consumption shifts and potential tax bases across the states, with income growth having the greatest effect...." The geographical focus is on the United States.

Effect of education and household characteristics on infant and child mortality in urban Nepal

Infant and child mortality differentials are analysed by education of parents and other family members, access to toilet, electricity and source of drinking water in urban Nepal, using data from the Nepal Fertility and Family Planning Survey, 1986. The analyses showed significant effects of education, access to toilet and electricity in lowering infant and child mortality. Access to toilet and electricity are proxies for household socioeconomic status which suggests that education and household resources are complementary in lowering the infant and child mortality.

Who consults and where? Sociocultural differentiation in access to health care in urban Africa

Sociocultural differentiation in health behaviour was studied among 500 mothers randomly chosen in the suburban area of Dakar, Senegal. Variables were age, marital status, educational level, socioeconomic conditions, urban experience, town integration, village attachment, social insurance, ethnic group and disease categories. Access to health care was considered for the last illness of the mother and her youngest child under five. Town integration and disease category (and social insurance for children) were the only variables correlated with the number of consultations. Socioeconomic level and social insurance (and educational level for mothers) were associated with preference for private rather than public health systems.

[Models of economic theory of population growth]

"The economic theory of population growth applies the opportunity cost approach to the fertility decision. Variations and differentials in fertility are caused by the available resources and relative prices or by the relative production costs of child services. Pure changes in real income raise the demand for children or the total amount spent on children. If relative prices or production costs and real income are affected together the effect on fertility requires separate consideration." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Human capital and the rise and fall of families

"This paper develops a model of the transmission of earnings, assets, and consumption from parents to descendants. The model assumes utility-maximizing parents who are concerned about the welfare of their children. The degree of intergenerational mobility is determined by the interaction of this utility-maximizing behavior with investment and consumption opportunities in different generations and with different kinds of luck. We examine a number of empirical studies for different countries. Regression to the mean in earnings in rich countries appears to be rapid. Almost all the earnings advantages or disadvantages of ancestors are wiped out in three generations." A comment by Robert J. Willis is included (pp. 40-7).

Malthus' preconditions to moral restraint and modern population economics

The author examines the writings of Malthus and compares them with basic tenets of two modern economic approaches to fertility studies. It is suggested that "Leibenstein and Easterlin, on the one hand, base their arguments on the central role of aspirations and of relative income or status, whether it be that of the parents or of the friends and neighbors. We argue that aspirations and relative income effects are quite close to Malthus' ideas on 'forward looking' and self respect. The other modern economic approach to fertility studies, the Chicago school, is centered on the effect of human capital on consumption and fertility decisions, and we think that this idea was not too strange to Malthus when he emphasized foresight and the desire for knowledge." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND ITA)

A note on the microeconomics of migration

"The purpose of this note is to demonstrate in a simple model that an individual's migration from a small town to a large city may be rationalized purely by a consumption motive, rather than the motive of obtaining a higher income. More specifically, it is shown that in a large city an individual may derive a higher utility from spending a given amount of income than in a small town." A formal model is first developed that includes the principal forces at work and is then illustrated using a graphic example. The theoretical and empirical issues raised are considered in the concluding section.

[Private households according to socioeconomic classification in national accounting: the model of the Federal Statistical Office]

The author notes that "for calculating income distribution and expenditure by groups of households, annual averages are required concerning the number of private households by household groups and...the structure of the household members in a socio-economic classification." Problems of adjusting such household data so that they are compatible with data from other sources such as employment statistics are discussed, and a procedure for adjusting annual micro-census data on households in the Federal Republic of Germany is described. "Results for the year 1982 are presented, showing the main development trends as compared with the year 1972. Finally, the quality of forecasting with the adjustment procedure is studied." (summary in ENG)