Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador

The debate over whether to provide food assistance and the form that this assistance should take has a long history in economics. Despite the ongoing debate, little rigorous evidence exists that compares food assistance in the form of cash versus in-kind. This paper uses a randomized evaluation to a...

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Main Authors: Hidrobo, Melissa, Hoddinott, John F., Peterman, Amber, Margolies, Amy, Moreira, Vanessa
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154119
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author Hidrobo, Melissa
Hoddinott, John F.
Peterman, Amber
Margolies, Amy
Moreira, Vanessa
author_browse Hidrobo, Melissa
Hoddinott, John F.
Margolies, Amy
Moreira, Vanessa
Peterman, Amber
author_facet Hidrobo, Melissa
Hoddinott, John F.
Peterman, Amber
Margolies, Amy
Moreira, Vanessa
author_sort Hidrobo, Melissa
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The debate over whether to provide food assistance and the form that this assistance should take has a long history in economics. Despite the ongoing debate, little rigorous evidence exists that compares food assistance in the form of cash versus in-kind. This paper uses a randomized evaluation to assess the impacts and cost-effectiveness of cash, food vouchers, and food transfers. We find that all three modalities significantly improve the quantity and quality of food consumed. However, differences emerge in the types of food consumed, with food transfers leading to significantly larger increases in calories consumed, and vouchers leading to significantly larger increases in dietary diversity.
format Artículo preliminar
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institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2012
publishDateRange 2012
publishDateSort 2012
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spelling CGSpace1541192025-11-06T06:48:01Z Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador Hidrobo, Melissa Hoddinott, John F. Peterman, Amber Margolies, Amy Moreira, Vanessa food security food assistance cash transfers food aid nutrition food intake impact assessment The debate over whether to provide food assistance and the form that this assistance should take has a long history in economics. Despite the ongoing debate, little rigorous evidence exists that compares food assistance in the form of cash versus in-kind. This paper uses a randomized evaluation to assess the impacts and cost-effectiveness of cash, food vouchers, and food transfers. We find that all three modalities significantly improve the quantity and quality of food consumed. However, differences emerge in the types of food consumed, with food transfers leading to significantly larger increases in calories consumed, and vouchers leading to significantly larger increases in dietary diversity. 2012 2024-10-01T13:59:36Z 2024-10-01T13:59:36Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154119 en Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John F.; Peterman, Amber; Margolies, Amy; Moreira, Vanessa. 2012. Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1234. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154119
spellingShingle food security
food assistance
cash transfers
food aid
nutrition
food intake
impact assessment
Hidrobo, Melissa
Hoddinott, John F.
Peterman, Amber
Margolies, Amy
Moreira, Vanessa
Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador
title Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador
title_full Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador
title_fullStr Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador
title_full_unstemmed Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador
title_short Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador
title_sort cash food or vouchers evidence from a randomized experiment in northern ecuador
topic food security
food assistance
cash transfers
food aid
nutrition
food intake
impact assessment
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/154119
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AT hoddinottjohnf cashfoodorvouchersevidencefromarandomizedexperimentinnorthernecuador
AT petermanamber cashfoodorvouchersevidencefromarandomizedexperimentinnorthernecuador
AT margoliesamy cashfoodorvouchersevidencefromarandomizedexperimentinnorthernecuador
AT moreiravanessa cashfoodorvouchersevidencefromarandomizedexperimentinnorthernecuador