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Cash transfers and nutrition: The role of market isolation after weather shocks

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  • Dietrich, Stephan
  • Schmerzeck, Georg

Abstract

Cash transfers are a widely used policy instrument in Sub-Saharan Africa to shield vulnerable populations from malnutrition. In this paper, we focus on the role of local food markets after weather shocks as a facilitating factor for program impacts on nutrition. As food prices tend to be negatively correlated with households’ own production in isolated markets, we expect the purchasing power of cash transfers to decrease after harvest failures in such markets. To test this, we analyze the impact of Kenya’s Hunger Safety Net Programme during the 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa, considering the impacts on food consumption and the availability of macro- and micro-nutrients at the household level. We particularly focus on heterogeneous program impacts depending on the exposure to the drought, measured with satellite imagery, and impacts depending on the isolation of local food markets, approximated by price differences between community and wholesale maize prices. Our findings indicate that, despite some encouraging effects on proxy indicators, the program does not have significant impacts on nutrient availability on average. However, we do observe significant positive impacts for drought affected households in less isolated communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Dietrich, Stephan & Schmerzeck, Georg, 2019. "Cash transfers and nutrition: The role of market isolation after weather shocks," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 1-1.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:87:y:2019:i:c:s0306919219305561
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.101739
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    Cited by:

    1. Dietrich, Stephan & Schmerzeck, Georg, 2020. "For real? Income and non-income effects of cash transfers on the demand for food," MERIT Working Papers 2020-006, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    2. Shouro Dasgupta & Elizabeth J. Z. Robinson, 2021. "Food Insecurity, Safety Nets, and Coping Strategies during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Country Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-22, September.
    3. Jaah, Mkupete & Fintel, Dieter von & Burger, Ronelle, 2021. "Maize Price Shock, Agriculture Production and Children Nutrition Outcomes in Tanzania," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314974, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Masanori Matsuura‐Kannari & Yir‐Hueih Luh & Abu Hayat Md. Saiful Islam, 2023. "Weather shocks, livelihood diversification, and household food security: Empirical evidence from rural Bangladesh," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 54(4), pages 455-470, July.
    5. Seth R. Gitter & James Manley & Jill Bernstein & Paul Winters, 2022. "Do agricultural support and cash transfer programmes improve nutritional status?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(1), pages 203-235, January.

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