Economic analysis on the socioeconomic determinants of child malnutrition in Lao PDR

【Keywords】Child malnutrition, Anthropometrics, Stunting, Wasting, Underweight, Social determinants of health, Millennium Development Goal (MDG), Health policies, Lao PDR (Laos) 【JEL classification】I18, O15, O21 【Abstract】The prevalence of stunting and underweight among Lao children is amongst the highest in the region. This paper provides a theoretical framework which integrates the mechanism of child malnutrition and a household decision-making behaviour and investigates the relationship between socioeconomic factors and child health outcomes. Using the Lao Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 3 dataset, it reveals that mother’s age and education level, ethnicity, household assets and community factors such as water, sanitation and communication infrastructure have a statistically significant impact on child nutritional status. The unobserved heterogeneities of both household and community are also found to be associated with child nutrition production.