THE MODEL.................................................................................................................................7 I. Basic Methodology on Food............................................................................................. 7

This paper provides an overview of the various channels through which public infrastructure may affect growth. In addition to the conventional productivity, complementarity, and crowding-out effects typically emphasized in the literature, the impact of infrastructure on investment adjustment costs, the durability of private capital, and the production of health and education services are also highlighted. Effects on health and education are well documented in a number of microeconomic studies, but macroeconomists have only recently begun to study their implications for growth. Links between health, infrastructure, and growth are illustrated in an endogenous growth model with transitional dynamics, and the optimal allocation of public expenditure is discussed. The conluding section draws implications of the analysis for the design of strategies aimed at promoting growth and reducing poverty.

“A 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment ” is an initiative of the

(HNP) of the World Bank’s Human Development Network. The papers in this series aim to provide a vehicle for publishing preliminary and unpolished results on HNP topics to encourage discussion and debate. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. Citation and the use of material presented in this series should take into account this provisional character. For free copies of papers in this series please contact the individual authors whose name appears on the paper. Enquiries about the series and submissions should be made directly to

Abstract: The nutritional status of under five children is a sensitive indicator of a country’s health status as well as economic condition. This study investigated differential impact of some demographic, socio-economic, environmental and health related factors on nutritional status among under five children in Bangladesh. The study used Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 1999-2000 (BDHS 1999-2000) data. Bivariate analysis and multivariate analysis (Cox’s linear logistic regression model) were used to identify the determinants of under-five malnutrition. The analyses revealed that 45 percent of the children under age five were suffering from chronic malnutrition, 10.5 percent were acutely malnourished and 48 percent had under-weight problem. The main contributing factors for under five malnutrition were found to be previous birth interval, size at birth, mother’s body mass index at birth and parent’s education.

Abstract. Traditional food security strategies are reviewed and generally found to have a weak impact on lowering child malnutrition. Unless these programs are properly targeted and linked to employment and micro-credit opportunities for women, they are unlikely to be effective or sustainable. The links between food policy and nutrition security require greater attention to dietary quality through agricultural research and technology, directed to reducing both undernutrition and overnutrition; social security policies that protect poor women and children; and food aid policies that are developmental in intent and impact. One element in the final solution to malnutrition is to provide increased consumption of a range of nonstaple foods. To reach the poor, this will require a relatively large investment in agricultural research and other public and on-farm infrastructure over several decades. In the medium run, a much smaller investment in improving the nutrient content of food staples through plant breeding can make a major contribution to reducing deficiencies in selected micronutrients. The role of women is central to nutrition outcomes through child care, so that policies and programs must consider how to enhance women’s decision-making power in the household, how they affect time demands on women, and how to increase women's education and nutritional knowledge. Finally, community-based programs, which are central to the RETA strategy for improved nutrition, should be used to monitor the nutrition effects of agricultural policies and programs and to provide feedback to agricultural policymakers as to how to enhance the positive effects and minimize the negative effects of agricultural policies and programs.

1975 to identify and analyze alternative national and international strategies and policies for meeting food needs of the developing world on a sustainable basis, with particular emphasis on low-income countries and on the poorer groups in those countries. While the research effort is geared to the precise objective of contributing to the reduction of hunger and malnutrition, the factors involved are many and wide-ranging, requiring analysis of underlying processes and extending beyond a narrowly defined food sector. The Institute’s research program reflects worldwide collaboration with governments and private and public institutions interested in increasing food production and improving the equity of its distribution. Research results are disseminated to policymakers, opinion formers, administrators, policy analysts, researchers, and others concerned with national and international food and agricultural policy. About IFPRI Research Monographs IFPRI Research Monographs are well-focused, policy-relevant monographs

in this series aim to provide a vehicle for publishing preliminary and unpolished results on HNP topics to encourage discussion and debate. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. Citation and the use of material presented in this series should take into account this provisional character. For free copies of papers in this series please contact the individual authors whose name appears on the paper. Enquiries about the series and submissions should be made directly to

“A 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment ” is an initiative of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to develop a shared vision and consensus for action on how to meet future world food needs while reducing poverty and protecting the environment. 2020 discussion papers present technical research results that encompass a wide range of subjects drawn from research on policy-relevant aspects of agriculture, poverty, nutrition, and the environment. They contain materials that IFPRI believes are of key interest to those involved in addressing emerging food and development problems.

In low-income countries, malnutrition is often most severe among infants of six to twenty-four months. They need higher-density foods than the family diet, but density is a credence attribute. We hypothesize that the premium now paid for heavily advertised brands reflects demand for quality assurance, which could be provided at lower cost to competing firms through third-party certification. We use a new market experiment to find that mothers ’ average willingness-to-pay for certification is about $1.75/kg, or four times its cost, so that total economic-surplus gains from introducing certification to Mali would be on the order of $1 million annually. Key words: asymmetric information, child nutrition, complementary foods. The nutrition of infants is a major public health and welfare challenge in developing countries, where an estimated one-third of preschool children have had their growth stunted by inadequate diets, and over half of all child deaths are associated with malnutrition (UN and IFPRI). 1 Figure 1 shows the average size of children in Mali, relative to international norms: they become increasingly thin between four and twelve months of age, and increasingly stunted between four and twenty-four months. This pattern is typical of very low-income people around the world (e.g., Martorell and Habicht, p. 246–48; Lutter, p. 97). After about two years of age nutritional status often improves, at least in terms of weight-for-height, but the early experience of severe malnutrition can cause lifelong impairment (Martorell, 1995; 1999). Many factors could cause slow growth during the four to twenty-four month period, such as exposure to disease, age-specific micronutrient needs, and behavioral factors in child William A. Masters is a professor and Diakalia Sanogo is a