28
The debate over the appropriateness of us-
ing elasticities of nutrient intake as a measure
of the effects of income on nutrition can have
significant implications for policy analysis and
decisions. Behrman and Deolalikar (1987), for
instance, conclude that for income to have an
impact on nutrition, policies are needed which
raise the income elasticity of nutrient intake.
Schiff and Valdez (1990b), however, contend
that a low income elasticity of nutrient demand
is not in itself a cause for concern. In fact, they
point out, "the opposite may be true, as it may
indicate dietary adequacy in the sense that these
households can increase their intake of nutri-
ents but prefer to spend additional income on
other food attibutes [which may potentially im-
prove nutrition]. Only in the extreme case of
famine [or for households facing extreme pov-
erty], with all income spent on the cheapest
foods, would the level of nutrient intake be a
relevant measure of nutrition, and raising that
level would become the social priority."
*
Attention has also been given in the litera-
ture to the relationships between women's work-
ing conditions and time allocation on children's
nutrition. This issue is potentially important for
evaluations of the impacts of food security poli-
cies, technologies, or projects. For example,
because men and women in many African house-
holds have different labor and support respon-
sibilities, new technologies or policies may af-
fect intrahousehold allocations of labor. For
example, Kennedy and Bouis (1993) cite find-
ings which indicate that the introduction of me-
chanical technology for rice production in Si-
erra Leone slightly decreased the mean number
of hours worked by men, while the amount of
time required for female labor increased by 50
percent (originally from Spencer and Byerlee
1976). Franklin and Harrell (1985) have also
been critical of many food and nutrition pro-
grams which failed to achieve their desired
impacts largely because they assumed that hu-
man time was "an underutilized and low value
resource which is plentiful and must be used
more extensively."
However, the evidence in the literature on
the importance of women's time allocation on
nutrition has been partial and conflicting
(Bennett 1988). Some studies have suggested
that, despite the resulting increases in family
incomes, women's participation in work activi-
ties, in their fields or outside the home, has
overall adverse consequences for their children's
nutritional well-being, because mothers with
heavy work loads have less time to devote to
food preparation, household sanitation,
breastfeeding, and other aspects of child care
(Kennedy and Bouis 1993; Rabiee and Geissler
1992; Abbi et al. 1991). Kennedy and Bouis
(1993) suggest that "the household that allo-
cates more time to food preparation and child
care could enjoy better nutrition because of
reduced morbidity, than if it had earned extra
income and spent more for food."
On the other hand, some researchers have
shown that the negative effects on child care
resulting from women working may not be as
important as, or at least may be cancelled out or
mitigated by, the positive effects of increased
incomes or food production on household food
access (Bennett 1988). In studies in Tanzania
and Kenya, respectively, Wandel and Holmboe-
Otteson (1992) and Rubin (1992) found no sig-
nificant relationship between the amount of
mother's field work and children's nutritional
status. And in India, Abbi et al. (1991) con-
cluded that, although the risk of malnutrition
for a child of a working mother was 1.7 times
greater than that for a child of a nonworking
mother, low income was "the major detrimental
factor, with the mother's working status being
an aggravator."
Moreover, Bennett (1988) has criticized
those studies showing lower nutritional status
for children of working mothers for not having
adequately accounted for family income levels
or other important variables. Since women in
developing countries often join the workforce
only when faced with dire financial shortages
*
Words in brackets added.