IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/ecdecc/v58y2009i1p1-23.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Up in Smoke: Tobacco Use, Expenditure on Food, and Child Malnutrition in Developing Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Steven Block
  • Patrick Webb

Abstract

This paper explores the impact of expenditure on smoking products in low-income households on child nutrition, as mediated via reduced food expenditure. On the basis of data from a large household survey in rural Indonesia, the study finds that low-income households containing at least one smoker tend to divert a significant amount of scarce income to tobacco products and that relatively more of the diversion is drawn from food than from nonfood purchases. This results in a real decline in the quantity and quality of food consumed in the poorest households, which is associated with a statistically significant reduction in the nutritional status of children in those households. In other words, parental smoking increases child malnutrition via its displacement effect on food consumption-an intuitive but rarely documented empirical finding. Attention is needed to finding appropriate mechanisms for enhancing food and nutrition in poorest households in tandem with investments in public health information systems that highlight these indirect, as well as direct, links between smoking and child well-being. (c) 2009 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven Block & Patrick Webb, 2009. "Up in Smoke: Tobacco Use, Expenditure on Food, and Child Malnutrition in Developing Countries," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(1), pages 1-23, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:v:58:y:2009:i:1:p:1-23
    DOI: 10.1086/605207
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/605207
    File Function: link to full text
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/605207?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Bank, 2006. "Making the New Indonesia Work for the Poor," World Bank Publications - Reports 8172, The World Bank Group.
    2. Jha, Prabhat & Chaloupka, Frank (ed.), 2000. "Tobacco Control in Developing Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192632463.
    3. Susan H. Busch & Mireia Jofre-Bonet & Tracy A. Falba & Jody L. Sindelar, 2004. "Tobacco Spending and its Crowd-Out of Other Goods," NBER Working Papers 10974, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Wang, Hong & Sindelar, Jody L. & Busch, Susan H., 2006. "The impact of tobacco expenditure on household consumption patterns in rural China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 1414-1426, March.
    5. John, Rijo M., 2008. "Crowding out effect of tobacco expenditure and its implications on household resource allocation in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(6), pages 1356-1367, March.
    6. Webb, Patrick & Block, Steven, 2004. "Nutrition Information and Formal Schooling as Inputs to Child Nutrition," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 52(4), pages 801-820, July.
    7. Steven Block, 2004. "Maternal Nutrition Knowledge and the Demand for Micronutrient-Rich Foods: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(6), pages 82-105.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Grieve Chelwa & Steven F Koch, 2019. "The effect of tobacco expenditure on expenditure shares in South African households: A genetic matching approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Adrianna Bella & Teguh Dartanto & Dimitri Swasthika Nurshadrina & Gita Kusnadi & Faizal Rahmanto Moeis & Renny Nurhasana & Aryana Satrya & Hasbullah Thabrany, 2023. "Do parental Smoking Behaviors Affect Children's Thinness, Stunting, and Overweight Status in Indonesia? Evidence from a Large-Scale Longitudinal Survey," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 714-726, September.
    3. Maitra, Pushkar & Rammohan, Anu & Ray, Ranjan & Robitaille, Marie-Claire, 2013. "Food consumption patterns and malnourished Indian children: Is there a link?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 70-81.
    4. Gallego, J. M & Paraje, G & Rodríguez-Lesmes, P, 2022. "Inequality of the crowding-out effect of tobacco expenditure in Colombia," Documentos de Trabajo 20304, Universidad del Rosario.
    5. Mohamed Arouri & Adel Ben-Youssef & Cuong Nguyen Viet, 2017. "Does having more children increase the likelihood of parental smoking? Evidence from Vietnam," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(3), pages 260-275, July.
    6. Jin, Hyun Joung & Cho, Sung Min, 2021. "Effects of cigarette price increase on fresh food expenditures of low-income South Korean households that spend relatively more on cigarettes," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(1), pages 75-82.
    7. Firman Witoelar & John Strauss & Bondan Sikoki, 2009. "Socioeconomic Success and Health in Later Life Evidence from the Indonesia Family Life Survey," Working Papers WR-704, RAND Corporation.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jaya Jumrani & P. S. Birthal, 2017. "Does consumption of tobacco and alcohol affect household food security? Evidence from rural India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(2), pages 255-279, April.
    2. Jian Jiu Chen & Sai Yin Ho & Wing Man Au & Man Ping Wang & Tai Hing Lam, 2015. "Family Smoking, Exposure to Secondhand Smoke at Home and Family Unhappiness in Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, November.
    3. Nomusa Yolanda Nkomo & Mduduzi Biyase & Beatrice D. Simo-Kengne, 2023. "The Effects of Inequality on the Substitution of Essential Goods for Tobacco Smoking in South Africa," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Rashid, Dewan Arif & Smith, Lisa C. & Rahman, Tauhidur, 2011. "Determinants of Dietary Quality: Evidence from Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 2221-2231.
    5. Kostakis, Ioannis, 2020. "Does tobacco spending crowd-out the household budget? Preliminary results using nationwide survey data," MPRA Paper 102251, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Jin, Hyun Joung & Cho, Sung Min, 2021. "Effects of cigarette price increase on fresh food expenditures of low-income South Korean households that spend relatively more on cigarettes," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(1), pages 75-82.
    7. Pu, Cheng-yun & Lan, Virginia & Chou, Yiing-Jenq & Lan, Chung-fu, 2008. "The crowding-out effects of tobacco and alcohol where expenditure shares are low: Analyzing expenditure data for Taiwan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1979-1989, May.
    8. Choudhury, Samira & Headey, Derek D., 2016. "What drives diversification of national food supplies? A cross-country analysis," IFPRI discussion papers 1581, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Rijo John, 2006. "Crowding-out effect of tobacco expenditure and its implications on intra-household resource allocation," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2006-002, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    10. Steven F. Koch & Gauthier Tshiswaka-Kashalala, 2008. "Tobacco Substitution and the Poor," Working Papers 200832, University of Pretoria, Department of Economics.
    11. Block, Steven A. & Kiess, Lynnda & Webb, Patrick & Kosen, Soewarta & Moench-Pfanner, Regina & Bloem, Martin W. & Peter Timmer, C., 2004. "Macro shocks and micro outcomes: child nutrition during Indonesia's crisis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 21-44, March.
    12. Schneider, K. & Masters, W.A., 2018. "Orange Fanta vs orange fruit: A novel measure of nutrition knowledge and women’s diet quality in Malawi," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 275959, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Adem Aksoy & Abdulbaki Bilgic & Steven T. Yen & Faruk Urak, 2019. "Determinants of Household Alcohol and Tobacco Expenditures in Turkey," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 40(4), pages 609-622, December.
    14. John, Rijo M., 2008. "Crowding out effect of tobacco expenditure and its implications on household resource allocation in India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(6), pages 1356-1367, March.
    15. White, Justin S. & Basu, Sanjay, 2016. "Does the benefits schedule of cash assistance programs affect the purchase of temptation goods? Evidence from Peru," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 70-89.
    16. Wu, Daphne C. & Shannon, Geordan & Reynales-Shigematsu, Luz Myriam & Saenz de Miera, Belen & Llorente, Blanca & Jha, Prabhat, 2021. "Implications of household tobacco and alcohol use on child health and women's welfare in six low and middle-income countries: An analysis from a gender perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    17. Muhammad Jami Husain & Biplab Kumar Datta & Mandeep K Virk-Baker & Mark Parascandola & Bazlul Haque Khondker, 2018. "The crowding-out effect of tobacco expenditure on household spending patterns in Bangladesh," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, October.
    18. Nyagwachi, Abel Otwori & Chelwa, Grieve & van Walbeek, Corné, 2020. "The effect of tobacco- and alcohol-control policies on household spending patterns in Kenya: An approach using matched difference in differences," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    19. Maksym Obrizan & Karine Torosyan & Norberto Pignatti, 2018. "Tobacco spending in Georgia: Machine learning approach," Working Papers 3184, Research Consulting and Development.
    20. Hartono, Djoni & Resosudarmo, Budy P., 2008. "The economy-wide impact of controlling energy consumption in Indonesia: An analysis using a Social Accounting Matrix framework," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1404-1419, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucp:ecdecc:v:58:y:2009:i:1:p:1-23. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/EDCC .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.