Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya

Many development programs rely on the idea that increasing profitability of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could increase availability of nutritious foods among low-income consumers. We designed a randomized controlled trial in which we made a specific nutritious product produced by an S...

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Autores principales: Maredia, Mywish K., Porter, Maria, Nakasone, Eduardo, Ortega, David L., Caputo, Vincenzina
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/171521
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author Maredia, Mywish K.
Porter, Maria
Nakasone, Eduardo
Ortega, David L.
Caputo, Vincenzina
author_browse Caputo, Vincenzina
Maredia, Mywish K.
Nakasone, Eduardo
Ortega, David L.
Porter, Maria
author_facet Maredia, Mywish K.
Porter, Maria
Nakasone, Eduardo
Ortega, David L.
Caputo, Vincenzina
author_sort Maredia, Mywish K.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Many development programs rely on the idea that increasing profitability of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could increase availability of nutritious foods among low-income consumers. We designed a randomized controlled trial in which we made a specific nutritious product produced by an SME exhaustively available in low-income local markets. We find that compared to control markets, consumers in treated markets purchased and consumed more of this product and less of competing brands with added sugar and fat. However, overall consumption for the product category was not increased and there was no change in the consumption of other related but potentially less nutritious foods. Our findings suggest the need for alternative policies to increase consumption of nutritious foods.
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spelling CGSpace1715212025-10-26T12:50:43Z Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya Maredia, Mywish K. Porter, Maria Nakasone, Eduardo Ortega, David L. Caputo, Vincenzina field experimentation food consumption food supply households nutrition profitability small and medium enterprises Many development programs rely on the idea that increasing profitability of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could increase availability of nutritious foods among low-income consumers. We designed a randomized controlled trial in which we made a specific nutritious product produced by an SME exhaustively available in low-income local markets. We find that compared to control markets, consumers in treated markets purchased and consumed more of this product and less of competing brands with added sugar and fat. However, overall consumption for the product category was not increased and there was no change in the consumption of other related but potentially less nutritious foods. Our findings suggest the need for alternative policies to increase consumption of nutritious foods. 2024-06 2025-01-29T12:58:17Z 2025-01-29T12:58:17Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/171521 en Open Access Wiley Maredia, Mywish K.; Porter, Maria; Nakasone, Eduardo; Ortega, David L.; and Caputo, Vincenzina. 2024. Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy 46(2): 414-434. https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13402
spellingShingle field experimentation
food consumption
food supply
households
nutrition
profitability
small and medium enterprises
Maredia, Mywish K.
Porter, Maria
Nakasone, Eduardo
Ortega, David L.
Caputo, Vincenzina
Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya
title Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya
title_full Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya
title_fullStr Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya
title_short Does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small- and medium-sized enterprise increase its consumption? Evidence from a field experiment in Kenya
title_sort does increasing the availability of a nutritious food produced by a small and medium sized enterprise increase its consumption evidence from a field experiment in kenya
topic field experimentation
food consumption
food supply
households
nutrition
profitability
small and medium enterprises
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/171521
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