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Urbanization and Child Nutritional Outcomes

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  • Mulubrhan Amare
  • Channing Arndt
  • Kibrom A Abay
  • Todd Benson

Abstract

The implications of urbanization on child nutritional outcomes are investigated using satellite-based nighttime light intensity data as a marker of urbanization with data from two rounds of the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Nighttime light introduces a gradient of urbanization permitting investigation of the implications of urbanization on child nutritional outcomes along an urbanization continuum. Nightlight is found to significantly predict child nutritional outcomes even after controlling for observable covariates known to influence child nutrition. In all specifications, improvements in child nutrition outcomes onset with relatively low levels of light emissions and continue rapidly as nightlight intensity increases before largely leveling off. These nonlinear relationships highlight the value of nightlight as a population agglomeration indicator relative to traditional binary rural-urban indicators. Consistent with other recent work, patterns of urbanization influence welfare outcomes. At least for Nigeria, a pattern that extends the benefits of urban agglomeration to larger shares of the population would speed improvements to child nutritional outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Mulubrhan Amare & Channing Arndt & Kibrom A Abay & Todd Benson, 2020. "Urbanization and Child Nutritional Outcomes," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(1), pages 63-74.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbecrv:v:34:y:2020:i:1:p:63-74.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wber/lhy015
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    Cited by:

    1. Mulubrhan Amare & Channing Arndt & Kibrom A Abay & Todd Benson, 2020. "Urbanization and Child Nutritional Outcomes," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(1), pages 63-74.
    2. Kammerlander, Andreas & Schulze, Günther G., 2023. "Local economic growth and infant mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    3. Iacoella, Francesco & Martorano, Bruno & Metzger, Laura & Sanfilippo, Marco, 2021. "Chinese official finance and political participation in Africa," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    4. Mulubrhan Amare & Hosaena Ghebru & George Mavrotas & Adebayo Ogunniyi, 2024. "The Role of Land Inheritance in Youth Migration and Employment Choices: Evidence from Rural Nigeria," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 36(1), pages 135-160, February.
    5. Gibson, John & Olivia, Susan & Boe-Gibson, Geua & Li, Chao, 2021. "Which night lights data should we use in economics, and where?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    6. Hiroyuki Takeshima & Kamiljon Akramov & Allen Park & Jarilkasin Ilyasov & Tanzila Ergasheva, 2022. "Agriculture-Nutrition Linkages, Cooking-Time, Intrahousehold Equality Among Women and Children: Evidence from Tajikistan," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(2), pages 940-977, April.
    7. Ameye, H., 2018. "Secondary Towns The Nutritional Sweet Spot. A study of East Africa," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277211, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Mohammad Rafiqul Islam & Masud Alam & Munshi Naser .Ibne Afzal & Sakila Alam, 2021. "Nighttime Light Intensity and Child Health Outcomes in Bangladesh," Papers 2108.00926, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2022.

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