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Effectiveness of Food Assistance Programs in Bangladesh

Author

Listed:
  • Rinku Murgai
  • Salman Zaidi

    (Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit, South Asia Region, The World Bank, USA)

Abstract

Bangladesh boasts a wide array of targeted food assistance programs that strive to achieve a number of important developmental objectives. Findings from the 2000 Household Income and Expenditure Survey suggest that these programs are reasonably well-targeted towards the poor. Most of the pro-poor targeting is due to targeting the poor within communities rather than central actions to target poor areas. However, any definitive conclusions about the ‘pro-poor’ nature of spending on these programs are clouded by the survey findings which suggest that a large share of the total resources devoted to these programs disappear before reaching their intended beneficiaries. If these ‘unaccounted-for’ benefits are in fact appropriated by the non-poor, the incidence of spending on these programs would likely be pro-rich. Greater efforts to channel a higher share of resources to regions with greater need of assistance and to improve monitoring systems to reduce leakage from the system are likely to yield high dividends.

Suggested Citation

  • Rinku Murgai & Salman Zaidi, 2005. "Effectiveness of Food Assistance Programs in Bangladesh," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 21(1-2), pages 121-142, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jodeso:v:21:y:2005:i:1-2:p:121-142
    DOI: 10.1177/0169796X05053069
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ahmed, Raisuddin & Haggblade, Steven & Chowdhury, Tawfiq-e-Elahi (ed.), 2000. "Out of the shadow of famine: evolving food markets and food policy in Bangladesh," IFPRI books, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), number 0-8018-6476-3.
    2. Jayne, Thomas S. & Strauss, John & Yamano, Takashi & Molla, Daniel, 2002. "Targeting of food aid in rural Ethiopia: chronic need or inertia?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 247-288, August.
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    5. Ahluwalia, Deepak, 1993. "Public distribution of food in India : Coverage, targeting and leakages," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 33-54, February.
    6. Ravallion, Martin, 2000. "Monitoring Targeting Performance When Decentralized Allocations to the Poor Are Unobserved," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 14(2), pages 331-345, May.
    7. Ravallion, Martin & Sen, Binayak, 1994. "Impacts on rural poverty of land-based targeting: Further results for Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 22(6), pages 823-838, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Martin Rama & Tara Béteille & Yue Li & Pradeep K. Mitra & John Lincoln Newman, 2015. "Addressing Inequality in South Asia," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 20395, December.
    2. Mehta, Aashish & Jha, Shikha & Quising, Pilipinas, 2013. "Self-targeted food subsidies and voice: Evidence from the Philippines," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 204-217.
    3. Mehta, Aashish & Jha, Shikha, 2014. "Pilferage from opaque food subsidy programs: Theory and evidence," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 69-79.

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