Jeevika Weerahewa

Maternal employment and income affect dietary calorie adequacy in households in Sri Lanka.

Nutritional deficiencies among children and mothers in lower-income households in Sri Lanka continue to be a major obstacle to the countrys social and economic development. This study investigates the factors affecting dietary caloric adequacy in Sri Lanka, paying special attention to maternal income. An econometric analysis was performed using a household data set collected from a sample of 183 low-income households in the urban, rural, and estate sectors. The results showed that on average, mothers and children in the sample did not consume adequate levels of calories according to the recommendations of the Medical Research Institute of Sri Lanka. The mothers income and educational status, the number of children and adults in the family, and the ages, sexes, and birth orders of the children significantly influenced household and individual caloric adequacy. Specifically, the mothers income had a significant positive effect on the total caloric intake (CI) and caloric adequacy ratio (CAR) of the household, mother, and children and a significant negative effect on the relative caloric allocation (RCA) of the children. The results imply that when maternal employment generates extra income, the CIs of all individuals increase, yet the allocation of calories to the children of the household is reduced. Thus, provision of employment opportunities for mothers, along with adequate child-care facilities and nutritional educational programs, is a possible strategy to improve caloric adequacy among low-income households in Sri Lanka.

An analysis of consumer demand for fruits in Sri Lanka. 1981–2010 ☆

Micronutrient deficiency has become a serious health concern in many countries and Sri Lanka is no exception. Inclusion of vegetables and fruits, which are rich in micronutrients, in the diet is considered as one of the most cost effective measures to alleviate such deficiencies. The purpose of this paper is to analyze consumer demand for fruits in Sri Lanka. The specific objectives are to: (i) describe the patterns of fruit consumption across various households groups (ii) document the changes that have taken place in the local fruit supply for meeting the changes in demand, and (iii) to estimate price and income effects of changes in fruit consumption during 1981-2010. The study was conducted using secondary data which were extracted from government publications. The analysis shows that banana, papaw, mangoes and pineapple are the major fruits consumed and the consumption levels of such fruits have been rising over the years. The urban households and the households in high-income deciles are found to be allocating a relatively higher proportion of their food expenditure on fruits. The country is self sufficient in most of the fruits and only a small portion is traded. The results of econometric estimations reveal large income effects and relatively small price effects. A larger role for income based interventions as opposed to price based interventions to improve fruit consumption in Sri Lanka is evident from the results.

Gender and Intra Household Allocation of Remittances: Evidence from Estate Sector of Sri Lanka

Abstract Using a nationally representative data set, we examine whether the individuals’ bargaining power within households affect how remittances are allocated or spent in estate households in Sri Lanka. Using the gender of the household head as a proxy for household bargaining power, separate fractional logit models were estimated within the Engle’s Curve framework for male headed and female headed households to examine the intra household bargaining on decision making on resource allocation. The results suggest that international remittances contribute to reduce food expenditure in female headed households while male headed households invest more in housing. The results further reveal that internal remittances are a major determinant of expenditures for food, communication, entertainment, non-durables, transport and ad hoc purchases of male headed households. Remitters also have a significant contribution over the allocation of resources. The contribution by them for the food expenditure share decreases while their presence as a migrant to the household increases the expenditure for education, housing, health, consumer goods, durables and expenditure for ad hoc purchases, entertainment and transport. Overall, the study concludes that remitter has a greater say over the allocation of household resources while household head play a significant role in allocating remittances on food and housing. Keywords: Fractional Logit Model, Gender, Household Expenditure, Intra Household Bargaining, Remittances

An estimation of the willingness to pay for biodiesel: a pilot study of diesel consumers

Sri Lanka’s energy policy presumes that the country will be meeting 20% of its energy requirements by non-conventional renewable energy resources by 2020. This study attempts to assess diesel vehicle owners’ willingness to pay (WTP) for Jatropha biodiesel and the factors affecting their decisions. The Contingent valuation method (CVM) was used to elicit the WTP for the non-marketed biodiesel, which leads to a hypothetical allocation. For diesel vehicle users, a single bid approach was used at Rs.121/= per litre (€ 0.83). The study was carried out in Kandy region among diesel vehicle users. The factors affecting WTP were estimated using probit regression and WTP was estimated using nonparametric estimation techniques. The mean WTP for biodiesel by the diesel vehicle users was Rs.109 per litre (€ 0.74) for lower bound levels. The median WTP was Rs.124/= per litre (€ 0.85). Elderly respondents with higher education are less likely to pay for biodiesel in both samples. Married respondents with higher income are more likely to pay higher prices for biodiesel.

Home gardens in the Paschim Medinipur District of West Bengal in India: a land use system with multiple benefits

‘Home garden’ (HG) is a complex sustainable land use system combining annual and perennial crops, trees, shrubs, livestock and fishery. The flow of goods and services provides not only food and nutrition security and employment, but also other co-benefits. Though HGs have attracted international attention since 1950s, it has not been widely researched especially in the context of rural India. This paper presents the results based on a field study carried out in 100 HGs in Paschim Medinipur District in the West Bengal, located in eastern part of India. A structured questionnaire was used to identify different aspects related to HG characteristics, their role in household consumption, problem areas and the different socio-economic characteristics of the HG owners. The results suggest that home gardeners with a higher level of education and who are using modern inputs are able to derive more benefits from the HGs.