# The effects of trade liberalization on inequality in nutrition intake: empirical evidence from Indian districts

## TL;DR

This study shows that trade liberalization in India increased inequality in nutrition intake at the district level, especially for calories and certain vitamins.

## Contribution

The paper provides district-level empirical evidence on how trade liberalization affects nutrition inequality in India.

## Key findings

- Over 50% of individuals in surveyed districts did not meet dietary standards for macronutrients and micronutrients.
- Reducing import tariffs by 1% increased inequality in calorie and vitamin intake.
- Gender gap, female-headed households, and caste culture positively influenced nutrition inequality.

## Abstract

Despite the positive impact of trade liberalization on food availability in India, severe inequality in nutrition consumption at the district level persists. Empirical evidence on the relationship between trade liberalization and nutrition consumption inequality often offers a country-level perspective and generates disputed outcomes. The study aimed to explore the effects of trade liberalization on inequality in nutrition consumption at the district level in India and to examine the heterogeneity of the impact on different nutrition consumption.

Our study employed the Gini Index to measure nutrition consumption inequality of 2 macronutrients and 5 micronutrients at the district level in India during 2009–2011, utilizing the comprehensive FAO/WHO individual food consumption data. The import tariff was adopted as a proxy for trade liberalization, as its externally imposed nature facilitates a causal interpretation. We further identified the direct causal relationship between food trade liberalization and inequality in nutrition consumption using a fixed effects model.

The results show that more than 50% of the individuals in the survey districts did not meet the dietary standards for both macronutrients and micronutrients. Food trade liberalization hindered the improvement of inequality in nutrition consumption. As import tariffs were reduced by 1%, the inequality in intake of calories, zinc, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2 increased significantly by 0.45, 0.56, 0.48, and 0.66, respectively, which might be related to food market performance. The results also highlight the positive role of the gender gap, female-headed households, and caste culture on inequality in nutrition consumption in India.

To ease the shock of liberalization and minimize its inequality effects, complementary measures should be adopted, such as improving food logistic conditions in poor areas, and nutrition relief schemes.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-024-18749-7.