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Does the Urban Productive Safety Net Programme Alleviate Food Insecurity and Improve Education? Evidence from Tigray, Ethiopia

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  • Yibrah Hagos Gebresilassie

    (School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban 4041, South Africa
    Department of Economics, Aksum University, Axum P.O. Box 1010, Ethiopia)

  • Gebremeskel Berhane Tesfay

    (Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
    Department of Economics, Mekelle University, Mekelle 0231, Ethiopia)

  • Tekeleweyni Hadush Abay

    (Department of Economics, Mekelle University, Mekelle 0231, Ethiopia)

  • Sakhile Mpungose

    (School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), Durban 4041, South Africa)

Abstract

This study examines the effects of the urban productive safety net programme (uPSNP) on urban households’ food insecurity (FIN) and children’s school attendance in Tigray, Ethiopia. Data were collected from 333 urban households between August and September 2020. The FGT index was used to compute households’ food insecurity intensity level, while the propensity score matching (PSM) technique was employed to examine the effect of the uPSNP on the food insecurity of urban households. The results indicated that approximately 56.7% of uPSNP beneficiaries were food-secure and able to consume an average of 2469.964 kcal per adult equivalent. Most importantly, uPSNP beneficiaries headed by women (50.8%) were more food-secure than non-beneficiaries headed by men (5.9%). Furthermore, the children of beneficiaries of the uPSNP attended school more often than the children of non-beneficiaries. This study highlights the need to scale up the uPSNP to address household food insecurity.

Suggested Citation

  • Yibrah Hagos Gebresilassie & Gebremeskel Berhane Tesfay & Tekeleweyni Hadush Abay & Sakhile Mpungose, 2025. "Does the Urban Productive Safety Net Programme Alleviate Food Insecurity and Improve Education? Evidence from Tigray, Ethiopia," Economies, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-21, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:13:y:2025:i:5:p:144-:d:1660735
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Aregash Getachew Hailu & Zerihun Yohannes Amare, 2022. "Impact of productive safety net program on food security of beneficiary households in western Ethiopia: A matching estimator approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(1), pages 1-17, January.
    5. Belainew Belete & Tadele Bayu, 2023. "Does Social protection improve female-headed households’ food security in Ebinat district, Ethiopia," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 2210854-221, December.
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