The Revival of the "Cash versus Food" Debate : New Evidence for an Old Quandary?
The longstanding “cash versus food” debate has received renewed attention in both research and practice. This paper reviews key issues shaping the debate and presents new evidence from randomized and quasi-experimental evaluations that deliberately compare cash and in-kind food transfers in ten...
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Language: | English en_US |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/02/25994405/revival-cash-versus-food-debate-new-evidence-old-quandary http://hdl.handle.net/10986/23922 |
Summary: | The longstanding “cash versus food” debate has received
renewed attention in both research and practice. This
paper reviews key issues shaping the debate and presents
new evidence from randomized and quasi-experimental
evaluations that deliberately compare cash and in-kind
food transfers in ten developing counties. Findings show
that relative effectiveness cannot be generalized: although
some differences emerge in terms of food consumption
and dietary diversity, average impacts tend to depend on
context, specific objectives, and their measurement. Costs
for cash transfers and vouchers tend to be significantly
lower relative to in-kind food. Yet the consistency and
robustness of methods for efficiency analyses varies greatly. |
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