Patterns of food consumption and nutrition in Indonesia. An analysis of the national socioeconomic survey, 1978
Chernichovsky, D.; Meesook, O.A.
World Bank Staff Working Paper, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development 670: 72
1984
Document Number: 425324
The paper has two objectives: (1) to show how food and nutrition consumption in Indonesia vary by region, location of residence, season, and socioeconomic class, and (2) to identify and estimate the basic parameters which explain why households consume what they do in terms of foods and nutrients, given their characteristics and market conditions. Particular attention is given to the estimation of income and price elasticities of demand as good indicators of how households will respond to changes in incomes and prices, given their demographic and other characteristics. It is concluded that there are serious deficiencies in all nutrients in Indonesia and that the problem is more one of maldistribution than of an overall shortfall in the availability of foods. The estimation of income and price elasticities of demand for food and nutrients is based on a household utility-maximization model from which the household's demand for food and hence nutrients is derived. The double-logarithmic function is used, with quantities of food, calories and nutrients as dependent variables. Variations in household incomes and in family size and composition are associated with marked variations in the quantities and patterns of food consumption; however, corresponding changes in the consumption of nutrients are much less dramatic. Thus the substitutions among food groups resulting from changes in income and family size and composition are fairly efficient in maintaining the nutritional intake of households. The results concerning the effects of prices on food consumption patterns are rather tentative, since these prices reflect in part qualitative differences in food consumption which require further study. Nonetheless, it is already apparent that a great deal of substitution takes place as prices change. The paper concludes that there is wide scope for nutrition policies based on changes in incomes and relative prices, as food and nutrition consumption respond rather dramatically to such changes. The data also strongly suggest that inadequate diets are also prevalent among the better-off and the better-educated. Hence, alleviating malnutrition in Indonesia is not just a matter of raising levels of income but also of nutrition education.