International Journal of Economics and Management Sciences
Vol. 3 No. 2 (2026): May : International Journal of Economics and Management Sciences

Female Education, Poverty, and Household Factors in Reducing Stunting in Indonesia

Anita Kartika Putri (Unknown)
Ida Budiarty (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
29 May 2026

Abstract

Stunting remains a persistent nutritional challenge that threatens human capital development in Indonesia. This study examines the effects of exclusive breastfeeding, female education, sanitation, access to safe drinking water, inadequate food consumption, and poverty on stunting prevalence across 34 provinces in Indonesia during 2017–2024. The study employs a random-effects Panel EGLS estimator with Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) to address heteroskedasticity and cross-sectional dependence in provincial panel data. The findings reveal that exclusive breastfeeding, female education, and adequate sanitation significantly reduce stunting prevalence, while poverty significantly increases it. Interestingly, inadequate food consumption is negatively associated with stunting prevalence, potentially reflecting the contribution of government nutritional assistance and social protection programs. In contrast, access to safe drinking water does not show a statistically significant effect. Among the explanatory variables, female education is strongly associated with reductions in stunting. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening women’s education, improving sanitation quality, and expanding poverty-alleviation and nutrition-sensitive interventions to accelerate reductions in stunting and support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 in Indonesia.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

IJEMS

Publisher

Subject

Decision Sciences, Operations Research & Management Social Sciences

Description

Topics in this journal relate to any aspect of management, but are not limited to the following topics: Human Resource Management, Financial Management, Marketing Management, Public Sector Management, Operational Management, Supply Chain Management, Corporate Governance, Business Ethics, Management ...