Challenges in the Socioeconomic and Environmental Context: A Multidimensional Analysis of Delayed Childhood Development

ABSTRACT This study examines how key social, economic, and environmental factors affect Delayed Childhood Development, measured by the prevalence of stunting among children under five. Drawing on panel data from 47 countries between 2015 and 2019, we employ a dynamic network directional distance function (DN‐DDF) model to assess efficiency across four interconnected dimensions: social development, economic development, environmental performance, and sustainable outcomes. Stunting is treated as an undesirable output in the final stage, serving as a proxy for long‐term developmental risk. The findings reveal that African countries exhibit the lowest efficiency performance in both economic and environmental aspects, with Asia ranking highest and Africa lowest in overall efficiency. Further verification using a Tobit regression model shows that official development assistance (ODA), urban population, and the Human Development Index (HDI) are positively associated with efficiency. In particular, the strong correlation between urbanization and HDI suggests that structural demographic factors may play a key role in shaping national development efficiency. These results underscore the need for integrated policy strategies to address systemic inefficiencies and promote child development in vulnerable regions.