Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt
We evaluate the impacts of a traditional food distribution and a nutrition-sensitive food distribution intervention in the context of a rapidly increasing inflationary pressure in Egypt. Besides evaluating the relative and absolute impacts of these interventions on household food and nutrition secur...
| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo preliminar |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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International Food Policy Research Institute
2023
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/135820 |
| _version_ | 1855514240119472128 |
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| author | Abay, Kibrom A. Abdelfattah, Lina Alaaeldin Elkaramany, Mohamed Elsabbagh, Dalia Kurdi, Sikandra |
| author_browse | Abay, Kibrom A. Abdelfattah, Lina Alaaeldin Elkaramany, Mohamed Elsabbagh, Dalia Kurdi, Sikandra |
| author_facet | Abay, Kibrom A. Abdelfattah, Lina Alaaeldin Elkaramany, Mohamed Elsabbagh, Dalia Kurdi, Sikandra |
| author_sort | Abay, Kibrom A. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | We evaluate the impacts of a traditional food distribution and a nutrition-sensitive food distribution intervention in the context of a rapidly increasing inflationary pressure in Egypt. Besides evaluating the relative and absolute impacts of these interventions on household food and nutrition security, we also examine their impacts on households’ preferences for in-kind versus cash transfers. We implement a clustered randomized control trial through which we randomly assigned communities into: (i) “nutrition-sensitive” food box, (ii) traditional “staple-heavy” food box, and (iii) control group. We find that the nutrition-sensitive food distribution cushioned falls in dietary quality and food security of targeted households relative to the control group while the impact of the traditional and staple-heavy food distribution appears to be negligible. The nutrition-sensitive food boxes increased beneficiary households’ dietary diversity by about 9 percent while also increasing energy, protein, and iron intake by 12, 13, and 19 percent, respectively. We also find that experience with the food boxes increases households’ preference for in-kind transfers, more so among households experiencing high inflation rates and among those households not covered by other food and cash transfer programs. Receiving food boxes increases preference for in-kind transfer by about 9-11 percentage points. Our findings have important implications for the debate on the efficacy of alternative interventions to support poor households as food prices rise and the relative efficacy of in-kind and cash-transfers. The lack of effectiveness of the staple-heavy food boxes suggests that the design and content of in-kind transfers are crucial when considering this policy option, including compared to cash. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace135820 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| publisherStr | International Food Policy Research Institute |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1358202025-11-06T05:07:33Z Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt Abay, Kibrom A. Abdelfattah, Lina Alaaeldin Elkaramany, Mohamed Elsabbagh, Dalia Kurdi, Sikandra food systems inflation households nutrition food security cash transfers diet poverty policies We evaluate the impacts of a traditional food distribution and a nutrition-sensitive food distribution intervention in the context of a rapidly increasing inflationary pressure in Egypt. Besides evaluating the relative and absolute impacts of these interventions on household food and nutrition security, we also examine their impacts on households’ preferences for in-kind versus cash transfers. We implement a clustered randomized control trial through which we randomly assigned communities into: (i) “nutrition-sensitive” food box, (ii) traditional “staple-heavy” food box, and (iii) control group. We find that the nutrition-sensitive food distribution cushioned falls in dietary quality and food security of targeted households relative to the control group while the impact of the traditional and staple-heavy food distribution appears to be negligible. The nutrition-sensitive food boxes increased beneficiary households’ dietary diversity by about 9 percent while also increasing energy, protein, and iron intake by 12, 13, and 19 percent, respectively. We also find that experience with the food boxes increases households’ preference for in-kind transfers, more so among households experiencing high inflation rates and among those households not covered by other food and cash transfer programs. Receiving food boxes increases preference for in-kind transfer by about 9-11 percentage points. Our findings have important implications for the debate on the efficacy of alternative interventions to support poor households as food prices rise and the relative efficacy of in-kind and cash-transfers. The lack of effectiveness of the staple-heavy food boxes suggests that the design and content of in-kind transfers are crucial when considering this policy option, including compared to cash. 2023-12-19 2023-12-21T21:32:07Z 2023-12-21T21:32:07Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/135820 en https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136708 https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejad006 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/132231 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Abay, Kibrom A.; Abdelfattah, Lina; Elkaramany, Mohamed; Elsabbagh, Dalia; and Kurdi, Sikandra. 2023. Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2218. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137031. |
| spellingShingle | food systems inflation households nutrition food security cash transfers diet poverty policies Abay, Kibrom A. Abdelfattah, Lina Alaaeldin Elkaramany, Mohamed Elsabbagh, Dalia Kurdi, Sikandra Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt |
| title | Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt |
| title_full | Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt |
| title_fullStr | Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt |
| title_short | Nutrition-sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock: Evidence from a randomized intervention in Egypt |
| title_sort | nutrition sensitive food distribution amidst inflationary shock evidence from a randomized intervention in egypt |
| topic | food systems inflation households nutrition food security cash transfers diet poverty policies |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/135820 |
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