Table 6 Operational definitions of variables
Variables | Operationalization | Scale |
|---|---|---|
Dependent | ||
 Per capita calorie intake | The number of calories consumed in the past week divided by the number of household members multiplied by seven (in kilo calories) | Metric |
 Food diversity: SIDD | Food diversity considers the relative contribution of food group consumption | Metric (0–1) |
 Per capita consumption of vegetables and fruits | Total fruits and vegetables consumed by HH in the past week divided by the number of household members multiplied by seven (in kg) | Metric |
Explanatory | ||
 Real provincial minimum wage | Provincial minimum wage (deflated by provincial CPI, base year = 2012) | Metric |
 Neighboring real provincial minimum wage | The average minimum wage of neighboring provinces (deflated by the provincial CPI, base year = 2012) | Metric |
 Food inflation | Food inflation at the provincial level (%) | Metric |
 Provincial economic growth | Economic growth at the provincial level (%) | Metric |
Household characteristics | ||
 Location | 1 = urban; 0 = rural | Dummy |
 Marital status | 1 = married; 0 = others | Dummy |
 Age of HH head | Age of household head (in years) | Metric |
 Gender of HH head | 1 = male; 0 = female | Dummy |
 Homeownership status | 1 = own house; 0 = others | Dummy |
 Food assistance recipient | 1 = yes; 0 = no | Dummy |
 Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) recipient | 1 = yes; 0 = no | Dummy |
 HH size | Number of household members | Metric |
 Spouse education | If the HH head is married, then the education used is the highest educational level of the spouse (wife). If the HH is female-headed or the HH were unmarried male-headed, the education level of the HH head is used. This variable consists of 5 dummies (elementary school/equivalent, junior high school/equivalent, high school/equivalent, diploma/bachelor, masters/Ph.D) | Dummy |
 Real expenditure per capita | Total household expenditure in a month divided by the number of household members (deflated by the provincial CPI, base year = 2012) | Metric |