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How Consumer Price Subsidies affect Nutrition

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  • Kaushal, Neeraj
  • Muchomba, Felix M.

Abstract

We study the effect of an exogenous increase in food grain subsidy from a program targeting the poor in rural India and find that the increase in income resulting from the subsidy increased consumption of the subsidized grains and certain more expensive sources of nutrition, lowered consumption of coarse grains, the cheaper, yet, unsubsidized staple food, and increased expenditures on nonfood items but had no effect on nutrition in poor households. Estimates of the price effect of the subsidy on nutrition are also negligible; the price subsidy increased consumption of wheat and rice and lowered consumption of coarse grains.

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  • Kaushal, Neeraj & Muchomba, Felix M., 2015. "How Consumer Price Subsidies affect Nutrition," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 25-42.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:74:y:2015:i:c:p:25-42
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.04.006
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    5. Omamo, S. W., 2016. "IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 6 - Why food and nutrition security matters for inclusive structural and rural transformation," IFAD Research Series 280044, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
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    11. Phadera,Lokendra & Sharma,Dhiraj & Wai-Poi,Matthew Grant, 2020. "Iraq's Universal Public Distribution System : Utilization and Impacts During Displacement," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9155, The World Bank.
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