Impact of Cash Transfer Programs on Food Security and Nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-Country Analysis

Citation

Tiwari, Smriti; Daidone, Silvio; Ruvalcaba, Maria Angelita; Prifti, Ervin; Handa, Sudhanshu; Davis, Benjamin; Niang, Ousmane; Pellerano, Luca; van Ufford, Paul Quarles; & Seidenfeld, David (2016). Impact of Cash Transfer Programs on Food Security and Nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Cross-Country Analysis. Global Food Security, 11, 72-83. PMCID: PMC6687324

Abstract

This paper explores the extent to which government-run cash transfer programs in four sub-Saharan countries affect food security and nutritional outcomes. These programs include Ghana's Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty, Kenya's Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Lesotho's Child Grants Program and Zambia's Child Grant model of the Social Cash Transfer program. Our cross-country analysis highlights the importance of robust program design and implementation to achieve the intended results. We find that a relatively generous and regular and predictable transfer increases the quantity and quality of food and reduces the prevalence of food insecurity. On the other hand, a smaller, lumpy and irregular transfer does not lead to impacts on food expenditures. We complement binary treatment analysis with continuous treatment analysis to understand not only the impact of being in the program but also the variability in impacts by the extent of treatment.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2016.07.009

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2016

Journal Title

Global Food Security

Author(s)

Tiwari, Smriti
Daidone, Silvio
Ruvalcaba, Maria Angelita
Prifti, Ervin
Handa, Sudhanshu
Davis, Benjamin
Niang, Ousmane
Pellerano, Luca
van Ufford, Paul Quarles
Seidenfeld, David

PMCID

PMC6687324