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Fighting against hunger: A country-wide intervention and its impact on birth outcomes

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  • Beltran-Silva, Francisco

Abstract

In 2013 the Mexican government launched Sin Hambre (SH), a large-scale food assistance policy, with which to fight hunger, and which the government expressly intended to improve nutrition and access to food. This study applies a difference-in-differences approach using timing and regional variations in exposure to evaluate the impact of SH, particularly on average birthweight. Because municipalities were not selected randomly, the approach employs a method proposed by Imai et al. (2021) that improves the confidence to satisfy the parallel trend assumption under staggered adoption. Findings reveal that exposure to SH leads to, at most, moderate impacts on birthweight across various specifications.

Suggested Citation

  • Beltran-Silva, Francisco, 2023. "Fighting against hunger: A country-wide intervention and its impact on birth outcomes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:165:y:2023:i:c:s0305750x23000207
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106202
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Angus Deaton, 2003. "Health, Inequality, and Economic Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 41(1), pages 113-158, March.
    2. Eli Ben‐Michael & Avi Feller & Jesse Rothstein, 2022. "Synthetic controls with staggered adoption," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 84(2), pages 351-381, April.
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    4. Janet Currie, 2009. "Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Socioeconomic Status, Poor Health in Childhood, and Human Capital Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 87-122, March.
    5. Jere R. Behrman & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2004. "Returns to Birthweight," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 586-601, May.
    6. Abadie, Alberto & Diamond, Alexis & Hainmueller, Jens, 2010. "Synthetic Control Methods for Comparative Case Studies: Estimating the Effect of California’s Tobacco Control Program," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 105(490), pages 493-505.
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    8. Douglas Almond & Hilary W. Hoynes & Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, 2011. "Inside the War on Poverty: The Impact of Food Stamps on Birth Outcomes," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(2), pages 387-403, May.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Birthweight; Food assistance; Hunger; Maternal and child health; Nutrition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • H51 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Health

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