Growth Is Good, but Is Not Enough to Improve Nutrition

While it is generally agreed that growth is a necessary precondition for reducing poverty, relatively little is known about the relationship between economic growth and nutrition and, hence, how economic policies can be leveraged to improve nutrition. This chapter argues that growth is good, but is not enough to improve nutrition. During the early stages of development, growth helps reduce the prevalence of calorie deficiency, and, in most countries, agricultural growth plays a key role. But malnutrition becomes less responsive to growth as its prevalence rate declines, so economic diversification into the manufacturing and service sectors becomes necessary to leverage further reductions in malnutrition, especially as people migrate into urban areas. Nevertheless, growth—whether driven by the agriculture or nonagriculture sectors—is insufficient to address child malnutrition and reduce micronutrient malnutrition in all their dimensions. Strategic investments and special programs are needed in the complementary sectors of health and education as well. These findings are based on cross-country analyses that explore the general relationship between growth and malnutrition in the process of development. To complement these findings, forward-looking economic modeling applied to an agriculture-based economy (Malawi) and an oil-based economy (Yemen) assess the impacts of alternative policies on growth and nutrition outcomes. The conceptual framework underlying the country-specific economic analyses is displayed in Box 1.