# **1 Introduction**

Micronutrient malnutrition is a critical problem in many developing countries<sup>1</sup> , and Bangladesh is no exception. Women and children are most vulnerable due to their elevated micronutrient requirements for reproduction and growth. Approximately 60% of Bangladeshis suffer from various micronutrient deficiencies, of which deficiencies in vitamin A (a prime cause of night blindness), iron, and iodine are the most common (Government of Bangladesh, 1997). There is a growing concern about riboflavin, vitamin C, vitamin D, and zinc deficiencies (IFRPI-BIDSINFS, 1998). About 70% of the women of age 15-45 years and children of 0-14 years, and 80% of the pregnant and lactating women have blood hemoglobin levels below the acceptable limit and suffer from anemia (Government of Bangladesh, 1995), which accounts for about 25% of all female deaths in Bangladesh (IFRPI-BIDS-INFS, 1998).

To better understand the age-gender dimension of micronutrient malnutrition, it is important to understand how nutrients are allocated within the household. Viewing calorie<sup>2</sup> as a sufficient statistic for nutrients, Pitt, Rosenzweig, and Hassan, 1990 (henceforth, PRH) argue that gender inequality in calorie distribution is due to gender inequality in energy-intensity of occupations. In a subsistence economy, men engage in energy-intensive occupations in which health and food consumption influence productivity and wage rates (Strauss, 1986; Deolalikar, 1988), while women are mostly confined in (less energy-intensive) household activities. These gender-segregated occupational choices (given by social norms) in turn influence a household’s decision to allocate more calories to men as opposed to women, while there is not much gender disparity in calorie allocation among children. PRH estimates also imply that the households are inequality averse as men, despite being involved in energy-intensive activities, compensate their nutrient allocations in favor of women.

Although useful, the PRH framework does not provide much insight to the micronutrient malnutrition problem. Contrary to the PRH view, as I demonstrate, calorie is not a sufficient statistic for different nutrients<sup>3</sup> . Calorie adequacy often exists alongside micronutrient deficiency

> 1Nearly three billion people (including 56% of the pregnant and 44% of the nonpregnant women) suffer from iron deficiency anemia (IDA), and one-third of the world’s population suffer from zinc deficiency (Standing Committee on Nutrition, 2004, 2000; McLean et al., 2008). Twenty percent of the maternal deaths in Africa and Asia are due to IDA (Ross and Thomas, 1996). One in every three preschool-aged children in the developing countries are malnourished (Smith et al., 2003). Undernutrition, coupled with infectious diseases, accounts for an estimated 3.5 million deaths annually (See, Scaling Up Nutrition, A Framework for Action, available at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/NUTRITION/). At levels of malnutrition found in South Asia, approximately 5% of GNP is lost each year due to debilitating effects of iron, vitamin A, and iodine deficiencies alone (World Bank, 1994).

> 2While calorie is a measure of energy, I use calorie and energy interchangeably throughout the paper. Calorie implies kilocalorie (kcal).

> 3The simple rice-dominated diet with low intakes of vegetables, animal and dairy products, typically consumed by rural Bangladeshis, meets the calorie need of the people but does not fulfill all the micronutrient requirements as rice is not a significant source of many essential nutrients, such as, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and

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