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Mitigating the health impact of a famine: Evidence from the 1985 Ethiopian emergency food aid

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  • Di Falco, Salvatore
  • Han, Kyungbo

Abstract

We examine the long-term mitigating impact of emergency food aid on health status using the food aid response to the Ethiopian famine in 1984 as a case study. Employing novel geospatial data on the location of relief camps where emergency food was distributed, we estimate the effect of proximity to a camp on height in adulthood. We compare different birth timings (born before or during versus after the relief operation) and different villages of birth (born close to versus far from a camp), exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in accessibility to emergency aid. Access to relief operation in early childhood leads to higher stature in adulthood. Aid beneficiaries also display higher later-life labor productivity in the agricultural sector, which suggests that the long-term health consequence of emergency aid may have translated into gains in agricultural productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Di Falco, Salvatore & Han, Kyungbo, 2025. "Mitigating the health impact of a famine: Evidence from the 1985 Ethiopian emergency food aid," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:176:y:2025:i:c:s0304387825000823
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103531
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    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • H84 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Disaster Aid
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • F35 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Foreign Aid

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