Impact of Economic Growth on Child Malnutrition in Pakistan: A Time Series Analysis

Abstract

Child malnutrition is of utmost concern since deprivation in early childhood often causes irreversible damage to physical and mental health, reduces learning at school, and leads to lower incomes as an adult. The study's primary purpose is to investigate the relationship between economic growth and malnutrition in Pakistan. There is a general view that if economic growth increases, malnutrition decreases. The present study examined the impact of economic growth on malnutrition in Pakistan. The study is based on time series data taking from the period of 1985 to 2021. The data are obtained from World Development Indicator (WDI) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Six variables are used in the study, as malnutrition is the dependent variable while economic growth, immunization, health expenditures, mother education, and improved water are independent variables. The non-linear Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag Model (NARDL) is used for the empirical analysis. The results also show the long-run relationship between economic growth and malnutrition; if economic growth increases, malnutrition decreases in children.