Association between Economic Growth and Early Childhood Undernutrition: Evidence from 121 Demographic and Health Surveys From 36 Low-Income And Middle-Income Countries

An analysis of 121 Demographic and Health Surveys found an increase in GDP per capita resulted in an insignificant decline in stunting. When researchers compared the changes in GDP to the changes in the number of wasting and underweight children, there was no correlation at all. The authors suggest unequal distribution of wealth and poorly implemented public programs could help explain these findings. The research included surveys from 36 countries, and covered the period 1990 – 2011.