The Effect of Economic Crises on Nutritional Status: Evidence from Russia

43 Pages Posted: 22 Apr 2004

See all articles by Steven Stillman

Steven Stillman

Free University of Bozen-Bolzano; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Duncan Thomas

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Economics

Date Written: March 2004

Abstract

This paper uses data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) to examine the relationship between nutritional status and both longer-run household resources and short-run fluctuations in household resources. We evaluate six measures of nutrition - gross energy intake, two dimensions of diet quality, body mass index (BMI), which is a measure of net energy intake for adults, and for children, weight for height and stature. Our finding indicate a clear positive effect of longer-run resources on energy intake, diet composition, adult BMI, and child stature.

Between 1996 and 2000, Russian households experienced a dramatic decline in income and expenditure and then an equally dramatic rise. We exploit the panel nature of RLMS to identify the causal effect of changes in household resources on nutritional status. In contrast to the large decline in expenditure in 1998, nutritional status appears to be very resilient to variation in household resources and this is reflected in gross energy intake, adult BMI, and child stature, which all change very little as expenditure deviates from its long-run average. Diet composition, however, does change in response to transitory variation in household resources. It appears that individuals and households are able to weather large economic crises at least in terms of maintaining body mass and energy intake.

Keywords: nutrition, caloric intake, BMI, consumption smoothing, economic shocks, Russia, economic crises

JEL Classification: D12, I12, O12, P36

Suggested Citation

Stillman, Steven and Thomas, Duncan, The Effect of Economic Crises on Nutritional Status: Evidence from Russia (March 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=527006 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.527006

Steven Stillman (Contact Author)

Free University of Bozen-Bolzano ( email )

Via Sernesi 1
39100 Bozen-Bolzano (BZ), Bozen 39100
Italy

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Duncan Thomas

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Economics ( email )

Box 951477
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1477
United States

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