Natural Resources and Undernourishment in Developing Countries : Is There a Curse?

This paper examines for the first time how natural resources affect the prevalence of undernourishment in developing countries. Accounting for the effects of total rents and point resources, the results show that natural resource dependence explains the prevalence of undernourishment (including stunting and low birth weight) ceteris paribus. Appraising the natural resources-undernourishment nexus by geographical location suggests that the effect is more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Among the mechanisms to explain this result, we identify institutional vulnerability, internal conflicts, income inequality and agricultural expenditure as potential transmission channels through which natural resources influence undernourishment