Does a Wife's Bargaining Power Provide More Micronutrients to Females : Evidence from Rural Bangladesh

Using calories in a unitary framework, previous literature has claimed lack of gender inequality in intrahousehold food distribution. This paper finds that while there is lack of gender disparity in the calorie adequacy ratio, the disparity is prominent among children, adolescents, and adults for a number of critical nutrients. Pregnant and lactating women also receive much less of most of these nutrients compared with their requirements. A wife's bargaining power (proxied by assets at marriage), as opposed to her husband's, significantly and positively affects the nutrient allocations of children and adolescents and of adult females. The bargaining effects remain significant after controlling for unobserved household characteristics and the potential nutrition-health-labor market linkage. The findings, which have important policy implications for the growing problem of micronutrient malnutrition in the developing world, also imply that perhaps the nutrition-health-labor market linkage as a key explanation for intrahousehold food distribution has been overemphasized in the previous literature.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Rahman, Aminur
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-02
Subjects:	ADOLESCENT FEMALES, ADOLESCENTS, ADULTHOOD, AGED, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, ANAEMIA, ANEMIA, ANIMAL PROTEIN, BASIC NEEDS, BIRTHWEIGHT, BLINDNESS, BOTH SEXES, BULLETIN, CALCIUM, CALORIE INTAKE, CHILD HEALTH, CHILD MORBIDITY, CHILD NUTRITION, CHILD SURVIVAL, CHILDHOOD, CONTROL OVER RESOURCES, DECISION MAKING, DEMAND FOR FOOD, DEMOCRACY, DESCRIPTION, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DIET, DIETARY INTAKES, DISCRIMINATION, DISTRICTS, DIVORCE, DRINKING WATER, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS, EXERCISES, FAMILIES, FAMILY ECONOMICS, FAMILY MEMBERS, FAMINE, FATHER, FEMALE, FEMALE ADOLESCENTS, FEMALE CHILD, FERTILITY, FOOD AVAILABILITY, FOOD CONSUMPTION, FOOD DISTRIBUTION, FOOD INTAKE, FOOD POLICY, FOOD PRICES, FOOD SCIENCE, FOOD SECURITY, FOOD SUPPLIES, GENDER, GENDER DIFFERENCE, GENDER DIFFERENCES, GENDER DISPARITY, GENDER INEQUALITY, HEALTH OUTCOMES, HEALTH PRODUCTION, HEALTH SERVICES, HEALTH STATUS, HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, HOUSEHOLDS, HOUSING, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN NUTRITION, HUSBANDS, HYGIENE, IMPACT ON HEALTH, IMPORTANT POLICY, INDIVIDUAL HEALTH, INFANT, INFANT MORTALITY, INFANT MORTALITY RATES, INFECTIOUS DISEASES, INFORMATION SYSTEM, INHERITANCE, INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, IODINE, IODINE DEFICIENCIES, IRON, IRON DEFICIENCY, LABOR FORCE, LABOR MARKET, LABOR SUPPLY, LACK OF FOOD, LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES, MARITAL STATUS, MATERNAL DEATHS, MATERNAL MORTALITY, MEDICINE, MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES, MICRONUTRIENT DEFICIENCY, MICRONUTRIENT MALNUTRITION, MICRONUTRIENTS, MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS, MINERAL, MINERALS, MOBILITY, MORBIDITY, MORTALITY, MOTHER, MOTHERS, NATIONAL PLAN, NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION, NEWBORNS, NUTRIENT, NUTRIENT INTAKE, NUTRITION, NUTRITION INFORMATION, NUTRITION OUTCOMES, NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS, OCCUPATION, OCCUPATIONS, OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN, PENSIONS, POLICY CHANGE, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, POLICY IMPLICATIONS, POLICY LEVER, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, PREFERENCE FOR SONS, PREGNANCY, PREGNANT WOMAN, PREGNANT WOMEN, PROGRESS, PROTEIN, PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC POLICY, REPRODUCTION, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, RICE, SECONDARY SCHOOL, SEX, SEX DIFFERENCE, SEX DIFFERENCES, SIBLINGS, SOCIAL NORMS, SOCIAL SECURITY, SPOUSE, SPOUSES, STAGES OF LIFE, STD, UNDERNUTRITION, UNEMPLOYMENT, UNIONS, VEGETABLES, VILLAGE LEVEL, VILLAGES, VITAMIN, VITAMIN A, VITAMIN C, VITAMIN D, VITAMINS, WOMAN, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, ZINC DEFICIENCY,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/02/17360844/wifes-bargaining-power-provide-more-micronutrients-females-evidence-rural-bangladesh https://hdl.handle.net/10986/13167
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