Main description:

Drawing on the author's extensive and varied research, this book provides readers with a firm grounding in the concepts and issues across several disciplines including economics, nutrition, psychology and public health in the hope of improving the design of food policies in the developed and developing world. Using longitudinal (panel) data from India, Bangladesh, Kenya, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Pakistan and extending the analytical framework used in economics
and biomedical sciences to include multi-disciplinary analyses, Alok Bhargava shows how rigorous and thoughtful econometric and statistical analysis can improve our understanding of the relationships between a number of socioeconomic, nutritional, and behavioural variables on a number of issues like
cognitive development in children and labour productivity in the developing world. These unique insights combined with a multi-disciplinary approach forge the way for a more refined and effective approach to food policy formation going forward. A chapter on the growing obesity epidemic is also included, highlighting the new set of problems facing not only developed but developing countries. The book also includes a glossary of technical terms to assist readers coming from a variety of
disciplines.

Contents:

Preface ; Glossary ; 1. Introduction ; 2. Demand for food and nutrients in developing countries ; 3. Nutrition and child health outcomes in developing countries ; 4. Child health and cognitive development in developing countries ; 5. Fertility, child mortality, and economic development ; 6. Nutrition, health, and productivity in developing countries ; 7. Behavior, diet, and obesity in developed countries ; 8. Summing up and concluding remarks