MALNUTRITION, CHILD MORBIDITY AND THE FAMILY DECISION-PROCESS

This paper suggests a microeconomic model of the process by which infants and toddlers are subject to malnourishment, diarrhea and other illnesses in developing countries. It is econometrically estimated on a cross-section, time-series basis for 1200 children from Candelaria, Colombia. The model focuses on four issues: (i) the impact of economic constraints and intra-family resource allocation decisions on a child's nutritional and health status, (ii) the interrelationship between malnutrition, diarrhea and other diseases, (iii) the impact on health and nutritional status of specific policy interventions (maternal-child health education, food supplementation and the encouragement of breast feeding), and (iv) the importance of distinguishing between the effect of different policy variables on a child's height and weight during this period. © 1979.