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The purpose of this paper is to examine how the intakes of calories, proteins, and fats vary with income in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Annual time series data for 43 countries covering 1975-2009 that yields a balanced panel was employed for analysis. Nutrient-income elasticities are estimated based on the aggregate Engel Curve framework, using a feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) technique that is robust to autocorrelation.

The estimated nutrient-income elasticities are small: a 10 percent increase in income will lead, respectively, to rises of about 0.73, 0.87, and 0.90 percent in calories, proteins, and fats intake; showing that policies that are aimed at eliminating malnutrition through only the growth of per capita income will have positive but limited impacts. The estimated aggregate Engel Curve and the non-parametric plots show that at higher income levels the relationship between income and nutrient intake is non-linear and diminished, suggesting a low likelihood for the manifestation of an obesity epidemic in SSA.

This is the very study that attempts to look at the nutrition-income elasticities at cross-country level in SSA.

The purpose of this paper is to use cross-country data to investigate whether convergence process exists in per capital nutrient supply and also identify the determinants of change in per capita nutrient supply in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Annual time series data for 43 countries covering 1975-2009 that yields balanced panel were employed for the analysis. The convergence hypothesis is examined based on the neoclassical growth model using feasible generalized least square approach that is robust to autocorrelation and cross-sectional dependence.

The empirical results lend support to existence of convergence process in nutrient supply in SSA. Evidence of convergence in nutrient supply may have contributed to observed reduction in incidence of food-poverty in the region, which aligns with the argument in literature that recent Africa food security gains are due to food imports. The results of the determinants of change in nutrient supply showed that, global food trade represented by trade openness consistently increased growth in nutrient supply across countries in SSA significantly. Meanwhile, the speed of convergence of per capita nutrient supply, which measures how quickly growth in nutrient supply increases over time is very low, as this calls for urgent policy attention in the region.

The very first study to investigate convergence in food consumption and nutritional supply in SSA.