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Food Transfers and Child Nutrition: Evidence from India's Public Distribution System

Author

Listed:
  • Aditya Shrinivas
  • Kathy Baylis
  • Benjamin Crost

Abstract

India's National Food Security Act of 2013 (NFSA) led to one of the biggest expansions in food transfers in history, affecting over 500 million people. We use plausibly exogenous variation created by the NFSA to estimate the effect of food transfers on child nutrition. Using individual panel data across eight states in India over five years, we find that increased transfers significantly reduced stunting. The food transfers increased wage incomes and improved dietary diversity. Our results suggest that, in the states we study, the NFSA prevented approximately 1.8 million children from being stunted.

Suggested Citation

  • Aditya Shrinivas & Kathy Baylis & Benjamin Crost, 2025. "Food Transfers and Child Nutrition: Evidence from India's Public Distribution System," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 161-207, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:161-207
    DOI: 10.1257/app.20220505
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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