Advances in Pediatric Research
Open Access
ISSN: 2385-4529
ISSN: 2385-4529
Rayinda Putri Meliasari* and Gumilang Aryo Sahadewo
Amid growing economic uncertainty, household economic resilience has become a critical issue, especially in developing countries. At the same time, child stunting and cognitive impairment remain pressing developmental challenges, disproportionately affecting households with lower socioeconomic status. This study aims to construct a comprehensive and valid index for measuring household economic resilience by employing multidimensional household characteristics. Using data from the 2014 Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS), we develop a latent variable representing household economic resilience through factor analysis, incorporating indicators of economic welfare, living conditions, social protection and financial literacy, each constructed from multiple constituent variables. Additionally, we explore the impact of household resilience on child growth, employing rainfall as an Instrumental Variable (IV). The findings reveal a significant reduction in the likelihood of stunting with an increase in household resilience. However, while positive, the effects on HAZ, WAZ and WHZ were not statistically significant. Notably, we observed an improvement in children's total cognitive z-score and math cognitive z-score, though past exposure to economic shocks did not produce significant results. The resilience index offers valuable insights for policymakers, helping to better target vulnerable populations and direct social protection programs and resources to those most in need.
Published Date: 2025-04-15; Received Date: 2024-09-13