SOCIOECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF MALNUTRITION IN LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES

Authors : İlknur Arslan Aras, Zehra Betül Şentürk, Buse Güler
Pages : 80-95
Doi:10.58635/ufuksbedergi.1796505
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Publication Date : 2025-12-31
Article Type : Research Paper
Abstract :This study investigates the socio-economic determinants of malnutrition in low-income countries, with a specific focus on the role of macroeconomic and structural indicators. Drawing upon panel data from 2014 to 2020, the empirical model incorporates four independent variables: out-of-pocket health expenditures, gross domestic product per capita, urbanisation, and unemployment. Malnutrition serves as the dependent variable, reflecting both direct and indirect outcomes of socio-economic vulnerability. A panel data framework was employed, and the model was estimated using a random-effects specification with robust standard errors, selected on the basis of the Hausman test result (p > 0.05). The findings show that GDP exerts a negative and statistically significant effect on malnutrition, whereas urbanisation has a positive and statistically significant effect. In other words, improvements in national income are associated with reductions in malnutrition prevalence, while higher levels of urbanisation—under conditions of rapid and unplanned growth—are associated with higher malnutrition levels. Out-of-pocket health expenditures and unemployment do not display statistically significant independent effects. These results reinforce the importance of inclusive economic growth and socially planned urban development as critical levers in addressing undernutrition. At the same time, the analysis is framed within a critical political economy perspective that links contemporary patterns of undernutrition to long-standing histories of colonial extraction, unequal trade relations and constrained policy space in the global economy. For health policy-makers and development practitioners, the study underscores the necessity of integrating socio-economic and urban planning into nutrition strategies to ensure sustainable improvements in health outcomes across low-income settings.
Keywords : Yetersiz Beslenme, Kentleşme, Sağlık Sistem Performansı, GSYH, Düşük Gelirli Ülkeler

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