IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/agfoec/v9y2021i1d10.1186_s40100-021-00189-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Implications of food-for-work programs for consumption and production diversity: Evidence from the Tigray Region of Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Bethelhem Legesse Debela

    (University of Goettingen)

  • Gerald E. Shively

    (Purdue University)

  • Stein T. Holden

    (Norwegian University of Life Sciences)

Abstract

Food-based transfer programs have the potential to change diets or alter basic crop mixes. This study empirically investigates the associations between participating in food-for-work (FFW) programs and the diversity of food consumption and production. Four waves of panel data from the Tigray Region of Northern Ethiopia, covering the period 2001–2010, are used to estimate a series of panel data regressions. A dose-response model is used to measure how the intensity of FFW participation aligns with dietary outcomes. Results show that FFW participants had greater household dietary diversity compared with non-participants, with an average magnitude equivalent to one-fifth of a standard deviation in the food variety score. When items directly provided by the FFW program are excluded from the variety score, the overall effect is statistically weaker, but similar in sign and magnitude, suggesting modest “crowding in” of dietary diversity from FFW participation. FFW participation was not correlated with changes in production diversity, suggesting that the labor demands of the program did not alter crop choice. Findings have relevance for interventions that aim to improve food security and promote dietary quality in low-income populations.

Suggested Citation

  • Bethelhem Legesse Debela & Gerald E. Shively & Stein T. Holden, 2021. "Implications of food-for-work programs for consumption and production diversity: Evidence from the Tigray Region of Ethiopia," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agfoec:v:9:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1186_s40100-021-00189-1
    DOI: 10.1186/s40100-021-00189-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s40100-021-00189-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s40100-021-00189-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Miller, Candace M. & Tsoka, Maxton & Reichert, Kathryn, 2011. "The impact of the Social Cash Transfer Scheme on food security in Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 230-238, April.
    2. Hidrobo, Melissa & Hoddinott, John & Peterman, Amber & Margolies, Amy & Moreira, Vanessa, 2014. "Cash, food, or vouchers? Evidence from a randomized experiment in northern Ecuador," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 144-156.
    3. Hoddinott, John & Skoufias, Emmanuel, 2004. "The Impact of PROGRESA on Food Consumption," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(1), pages 37-61, October.
    4. Gelan, Ayele Ulfata, 2007. "Does food aid have disincentive effects on local production? A general equilibrium perspective on food aid in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 436-458, August.
    5. Ayalew, W. & King, J. M. & Bruns, E. & Rischkowsky, B., 2003. "Economic evaluation of smallholder subsistence livestock production: lessons from an Ethiopian goat development program," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 473-485, July.
    6. Francesco Burchi & Margherita Scarlato & Giorgio d'Agostino, 2018. "Addressing Food Insecurity in Sub‐Saharan Africa: The Role of Cash Transfers," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(4), pages 564-589, December.
    7. Daniel O. Gilligan & John Hoddinott, 2007. "Is There Persistence in the Impact of Emergency Food Aid? Evidence on Consumption, Food Security, and Assets in Rural Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(2), pages 225-242.
    8. Jayne, T. S. & Strauss, John & Yamano, Takashi & Molla, Daniel, 2001. "Giving to the Poor? Targeting of Food Aid in Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 887-910, May.
    9. Tadesse, Getaw & Shively, Gerald, 2009. "AJAE appendix for Food aid, food prices and producer disincentives in Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics APPENDICES, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1-47, April.
    10. Bet Caeyers & Stefan Dercon, 2012. "Political Connections and Social Networks in Targeted Transfer Programs: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(4), pages 639-675.
    11. Getaw Tadesse & Gerald Shively, 2009. "Food Aid, Food Prices, and Producer Disincentives in Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 942-955.
    12. Hidrobo, Melissa & Hoddinott, John & Kumar, Neha & Olivier, Meghan, 2018. "Social Protection, Food Security, and Asset Formation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 88-103.
    13. Abdulai, Awudu & Barrett, Christopher B. & Hoddinott, John, 2005. "Does food aid Really have disincentive effects? New evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(10), pages 1689-1704, October.
    14. Lorge Rogers, Beatrice & Coates, Jennifer, 2002. "Food-based safety nets and related programs," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 29735, The World Bank.
    15. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, December.
    16. Bezu, Sosina & Holden, Stein, 2008. "Can food-for-work encourage agricultural production?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 541-549, December.
    17. John Hoddinott & Susanna Sandström & Joanna Upton, 2018. "The Impact of Cash and Food Transfers: Evidence from a Randomized Intervention in Niger," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(4), pages 1032-1049.
    18. repec:fpr:export:1341 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Fredu Nega & Erik Mathijs & Jozef Deckers & Mitiku Haile & Jan Nyssen & Eric Tollens, 2010. "Rural Poverty Dynamics and Impact of Intervention Programs upon Chronic and Transitory Poverty in Northern Ethiopia," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 22(1), pages 92-114.
    20. Daniel O. Gilligan & John Hoddinott, 2007. "Is There Persistence in the Impact of Emergency Food Aid? Evidence on Consumption, Food Security, and Assets in Rural Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 89(2), pages 225-242.
    21. Sabates-Wheeler, Rachel & Devereux, Stephen, 2010. "Cash transfers and high food prices: Explaining outcomes on Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 274-285, August.
    22. Guush Berhane & Daniel O. Gilligan & John Hoddinott & Neha Kumar & Alemayehu Seyoum Taffesse, 2014. "Can Social Protection Work in Africa? The Impact of Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 63(1), pages 1-26.
    23. Giovanni Cerulli, 2015. "ctreatreg: Command for fitting dose–response models under exogenous and endogenous treatment," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 15(4), pages 1019-1045, December.
    24. Agatha Carol Zhou & Sheryl L. Hendriks, 2017. "Does Food Assistance Improve Recipients' Dietary Diversity and Food Quality in Mozambique?," Agrekon, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(3), pages 248-262, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Makate, Clifton & Angelsen, Arild & Holden, Stein Terje & Westengen, Ola Tveitereid, 2023. "Evolution of farm-level crop diversification and response to rainfall shocks in smallholder farming: Evidence from Malawi and Tanzania," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    2. Makate, Clifton & Angelsen, Arild & Holden, Stein Terje & Westengen, Ola Tveitereid, 2022. "Crops in crises: Shocks shape smallholders' diversification in rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    3. Bezawit Adugna Bahru & Manfred Zeller, 2022. "Gauging the impact of Ethiopia’s productive safety net programme on agriculture: Application of targeted maximum likelihood estimation approach," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 73(1), pages 257-276, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Debela, Bethelhem Legesse & Shively, Gerald E. & Holden, Stein T., 2017. "Food for Work and Diet Diversity in Ethiopia," CLTS Working Papers 14/17, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Centre for Land Tenure Studies, revised 21 Oct 2019.
    2. Ferrière, Nathalie & Suwa-Eisenmann, Akiko, 2015. "Does Food Aid Disrupt Local Food Market? Evidence from Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 114-131.
    3. Tilman Brück & Oscar Mauricio Díaz Botía & Neil T. N. Ferguson & Jérôme Ouédraogo & Zacharias Ziegelhöfer, 2019. "Assets for Alimentation? The Nutritional Impact of Assets-based Programming in Niger," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(S1), pages 55-74, December.
    4. Goytom Abraha Kahsay & Workineh Asmare Kassie & Abebe Damte Beyene & Lars Gårn Hansen, 2017. "Do public works programs crowd-out pro-environmental behavior? Empirical evidence from food-for-work programs in Ethiopia," IFRO Working Paper 2017/13, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    5. Lara Cockx & Nathalie Francken, 2016. "Evolution and impact of EU aid for food and nutrition security: a review," Working Papers of LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance 572519, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance.
    6. Kahsay, Goytom Abraha & Kassie, Workineh Asmare & Beyene, Abebe Damte & Hansen, Lars Gårn, 2022. "Pro-environmental behavior under bundled environmental and poverty reduction goals: Empirical evidence from Ethiopia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    7. Hoddinott, John & Margolies, Amy, 2012. "Mapping the Impacts of Food Aid: Current Knowledge and Future Directions," WIDER Working Paper Series 034, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Mary, Sébastien & Saravia-Matus, Silvia & Gomez y Paloma, Sergio, 2018. "Does nutrition-sensitive aid reduce the prevalence of undernourishment?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 100-116.
    9. Koppenberg, Maximilian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Hirsch, Stefan, 2023. "Food aid and violent conflict: A review and Empiricist’s companion," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    10. Amy Margolies & John Hoddinott, 2012. "Mapping the Impacts of Food Aid: Current Knowledge and Future Directions," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2012-034, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Danny Cassimon & Olusegun Fadare & George Mavrotas, 2023. "The Impact of Food Aid and Governance on Food and Nutrition Security in Sub-Saharan Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-19, January.
    12. Guy Jackson, 2020. "The influence of emergency food aid on the causal disaster vulnerability of Indigenous food systems," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(3), pages 761-777, September.
    13. repec:unu:wpaper:wp2012-34 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Elsa Valli, 2017. "Essays on social protection," Economics PhD Theses 1017, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    15. Koppenberg, Maximilian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Hirsch, Stefan, 2023. "Food Aid and Violent Conflict: A Review of Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 16574, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Tagel Gebrehiwot & Carolina Castilla, 2018. "Do safety net transfers improve household diets and reduce undernutrition? Evidence from rural Ethiopia," Working Papers PMMA 2018-03, PEP-PMMA.
    17. Hill,Ruth & Fuje,Habtamu Neda, 2020. "What is the Impact of Weather Shocks on Prices? : Evidence from Ethiopia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9389, The World Bank.
    18. Gentilini,Ugo, 2016. "The revival of the"cash versus food"debate : new evidence for an old quandary ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7584, The World Bank.
    19. Lina Salazar & Julián Aramburu & Mario González & Paul Winters, 2015. "Food Security and Productivity: Impacts of Technology Adoption in Small Subsistence Farmers in Bolivia," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 87853, Inter-American Development Bank.
    20. Hirvonen, Kalle & Hoddinott, John F., 2018. "Payment modality preferences: Evidence from Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme," ESSP working papers 125, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    21. Girmay Berhe Araya, 2020. "Impact of Ethiopia's productive safety net program on manure use by rural households: Evidence from Tigrai, Northern Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(5), pages 725-742, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:agfoec:v:9:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1186_s40100-021-00189-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.