Crop Diversification and Child Health: Empirical Evidence from Tanzania

Posted: 31 Jan 2019

See all articles by Marcella Veronesi

Marcella Veronesi

University of Verona - Department of Economics; Center for Development and Cooperation (NADEL)

Date Written: 2019

Abstract

Malnutrition is recognized as a major issue among low-income households in developing countries with long-term implications for economic development. Recently, crop diversification has been considered as a strategy to improve nutrition and health. However, there is no systematic empirical evidence on the role played by crop diversification in improving human health. We use three waves of the Tanzania National Panel Survey to test the effect of crop diversification on child health. We implement two instrumental variable approaches, and perform several robustness checks to address potential endogeneity concerns. We find a positive but small effect of an increase in crop diversification on child height-for-age z-score, through greater dietary diversity. The effect is larger for subsistence households and children living in households with limited market access.

Suggested Citation

Veronesi, Marcella, Crop Diversification and Child Health: Empirical Evidence from Tanzania (2019). Ecological Economics, Vol. 158, 168-179, 2019, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3321689

Marcella Veronesi (Contact Author)

University of Verona - Department of Economics ( email )

Via Cantarane 24
Verona, 37129
Italy

Center for Development and Cooperation (NADEL) ( email )

Zürichbergstrasse 18
8092 Zurich, CH-1015
Switzerland

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