[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/aaea16/235649.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Effectiveness of Food Subsidies in Raising Healthy Food Consumption: Public Distribution of Pulses in India

Author

Listed:
  • Chakrabarti, Suman
  • Avinash, Kishore
  • Devesh, Roy
Abstract
Abstract There is an increasing demand to add pulses to the basket of subsidized goods in the public distribution system (PDS) of India—the world’s largest food-based social safety-net program. Would subsidizing pulses through PDS lead to a significant increase in its consumption? We study the case of subsidy on pulses in select Indian states and its impact on consumption and ultimately nutrition (in terms of protein intake) by exploiting an exogenous variation in prices to answer this question. Between 2004–2005 and 2009/2010, four Indian states introduced subsidized pulses through the country’s food-based social safety-net program, the Public Distribution System (PDS), while other states did not. We exploit exogenous price variations to examine whether the price subsidy on pulses achieves its goal of increasing pulse consumption, and by extension protein intake, among India’s poor. Using several rounds of consumption expenditure survey data and difference-in-difference estimation, we find that the change in consumption of pulses due to the PDS subsidy, though statistically significant, is of a small order, and not large enough to meet the goal of enhancing the nutrition of beneficiaries.

Suggested Citation

  • Chakrabarti, Suman & Avinash, Kishore & Devesh, Roy, 2016. "Effectiveness of Food Subsidies in Raising Healthy Food Consumption: Public Distribution of Pulses in India," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235649, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:aaea16:235649
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.235649
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/235649/files/no%20names%20version%20submission.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.235649?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
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maurizio Mazzocco & Shiv Saini, 2012. "Testing Efficient Risk Sharing with Heterogeneous Risk Preferences," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 428-468, February.
    2. Kishore, Avinash & Chakrabarti, Suman, 2015. "Is more inclusive more effective? The “new-style†public distribution system in India:," IFPRI discussion papers 1421, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Sebastian Galiani & Paul Gertler & Ernesto Schargrodsky, 2005. "Water for Life: The Impact of the Privatization of Water Services on Child Mortality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(1), pages 83-120, February.
    4. He, Hui & Locke, Peter, 2011. "Global trends in real risk free rates," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 53-63, January.
    5. Kochar, Anjini, 2005. "Can Targeted Food Programs Improve Nutrition? An Empirical Analysis of India's Public Distribution System," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 203-235, October.
    6. Jha, Raghbendra & Gaiha, Raghav & Pandey, Manoj K. & Kaicker, Nidhi, 2013. "Food subsidy, income transfer and the poor: A comparative analysis of the public distribution system in India's states," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 887-908.
    7. Kishore, Avinash & Chakrabarti, Suman, 2015. "Is more inclusive more effective? The ‘New Style’ public distribution system in India," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 117-130.
    8. Umali-Deininger, Dina & Sur, Mona & Deininger, Klaus W., 2005. "Foodgrain Subsidies in India: Are they Reaching the Poor?," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19486, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    9. Tarozzi, Alessandro, 2005. "The Indian Public Distribution System as provider of food security: Evidence from child nutrition in Andhra Pradesh," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(5), pages 1305-1330, July.
    10. Desai, Sonalde & Vanneman, Reeve, 2015. "Enhancing Nutrition Security via India's National Food Security Act: Using an Axe Instead of a Scalpel?," India Policy Forum, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 11(1), pages 67-118.
    11. Ecker, Olivier & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Analyzing Nutritional Impacts of Policies: An Empirical Study for Malawi," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 412-428, March.
    12. Pratap Singh Birthal & Pramod Kumar Joshi & Devesh Roy & Amit Thorat, 2013. "Diversification in Indian Agriculture toward High-Value Crops: The Role of Small Farmers," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 61(1), pages 61-91, March.
    13. K, S Chalapati Rao & Dhar, Biswajit, 2011. "India's FDI Inflows: Trends and Concepts," MPRA Paper 29153, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Shimokawa, Satoru, 2010. "Nutrient Intake of the Poor and its Implications for the Nutritional Effect of Cereal Price Subsidies: Evidence from China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(7), pages 1001-1011, July.
    15. Robert T. Jensen & Nolan H. Miller, 2011. "Do Consumer Price Subsidies Really Improve Nutrition?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 93(4), pages 1205-1223, November.
    16. Reetika Khera, 2011. "Trends In Diversion Of Pds Grain," Working papers 198, Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics.
    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. Jaya Jumrani & J. V. Meenakshi, 2023. "How effective is a fat subsidy? Evidence from edible oil consumption in India," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(2), pages 327-348, June.
    2. Mazzocchi, Mario & Capacci, Sara & Biondi, Beatrice, 2022. "Causal inference on the impact of nutrition policies using observational data," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 11(1), April.
    3. Merfeld, Joshua D., 2020. "Smallholders, Market Failures, and Agricultural Production: Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 13682, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Rahman Md. Mostafizur & Khatun Mst. Asma & Moinul Islam & Tatsuyoshi Saijo & Koji Kotani, 2024. "Does future design induce people to make a persistent change to sustainable food consumption?," Working Papers SDES-2024-4, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Jul 2024.
    5. P.K. Joshi & Avinash Kishore & Devesh Roy, 2016. "Making Pulses Affordable Again: Policy Options from the Farm to Retail in India," Working Papers id:11327, eSocialSciences.
    6. Susan Godlonton & Manuel A Hernandez & Mike Murphy, 2018. "Anchoring Bias in Recall Data: Evidence from Central America," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 100(2), pages 479-501.
    7. Cui, Yi & Zhao, Qiran & Si, Wei & Fan, Shenggen, 2024. "Can information intervention improve dietary quality? Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    8. Chintapalli, Prashant, 2023. "Optimal multi-period crop procurement and distribution policy with minimum support prices," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    9. Suman Chakrabarti & Samuel P. Scott & Harold Alderman & Purnima Menon & Daniel O. Gilligan, 2021. "Intergenerational nutrition benefits of India’s national school feeding program," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    10. Wenyan Xu & Qiran Zhao & Shenggen Fan & Chen Zhu, 2023. "Effects of direct grain subsidies on food consumption of rural residents in China," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(S1), pages 1382-1398, December.
    11. Fresenbet Zeleke & Girma T. Kassie & Jema Haji & Belaineh Legesse, 2021. "Would Market Sheds Improve Market Participation and Earnings of Small Ruminant Keepers? Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(2), pages 470-485, June.
    12. Travis J. Lybbert & Ashish Shenoy & Tomoé Bourdier & Caitlin Kieran, 2024. "Striving to revive pulses in India with extension, input subsidies, and output price supports†," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(3), pages 1167-1192, May.

    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. Neeraj Kaushal & Felix Muchomba, 2013. "How Consumer Price Subsidies affect Nutrition," NBER Working Papers 19404, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Kaushal, Neeraj & Muchomba, Felix M., 2015. "How Consumer Price Subsidies affect Nutrition," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 25-42.
    3. Rahman, Andaleeb, 2016. "Universal food security program and nutritional intake: Evidence from the hunger prone KBK districts in Odisha," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 73-86.
    4. Prasad Krishnamurthy & Vikram Pathania & Sharad Tandon, 2017. "Food Price Subsidies and Nutrition: Evidence from State Reforms to India’s Public Distribution System," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(1), pages 55-90.
    5. Anjani Kumar & Shinoj Parappurathu & Suresh C. Babu & P. K. Joshi, 2017. "Can better governance improve food security? An assessment of the public food distribution system in Odisha, India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(6), pages 1433-1445, December.
    6. Sudha Narayanan Narayanan & Nicolas Gerber, 2016. "Safety Nets for Food and Nutritional Security in India," FOODSECURE Working papers 37, LEI Wageningen UR.
    7. Sudha Narayanan & Nicolas Gerber, 2015. "Social safety nets for food and nutritional security in India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2015-031, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    8. Andaleeb Rahman, 2015. "Universal food security program and nutritional intake: Evidence from the hunger prone KBK districts in Odisha," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2015-015, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    9. Grover, Abhay & Chopra, Shweta, 2017. "298 Factors Affecting Beneficiaries’ Preference for Biannual Distribution of Food Grains in Public Distribution System of Punjab, India," International Journal on Food System Dynamics, International Center for Management, Communication, and Research, vol. 8(4), October.
    10. Christensen, Cheryl, 2018. "Progress and Challenges in Global Food Security," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 0(01), February.
    11. Wusheng Yu & Jayatilleke Bandara, 2017. "India's Grain Security Policy in the Era of High Food Prices: A Computable General Equilibrium Analysis," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(8), pages 1547-1568, August.
    12. Felix M. Muchomba & Neeraj Kaushal, 2016. "Effect of Food Subsidies on Micronutrient Consumption," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 10(3), pages 317-335, December.
    13. Kishore, Avinash & Chakrabarti, Suman, 2015. "Is more inclusive more effective? The “new-style†public distribution system in India:," IFPRI discussion papers 1421, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. Anjana Thampi, 2016. "The Impact of the Public Distribution System in India," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 10(3), pages 353-365, December.
    15. Kishore, Avinash & Chakrabarti, Suman, 2015. "Is more inclusive more effective? The ‘New Style’ public distribution system in India," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 117-130.
    16. Niti Aayog GOI, 2017. "Evaluation Study on Role of Public Distribution System in Shaping Household and Nutritional Security India," Working Papers id:11753, eSocialSciences.
    17. Amrita Sandhu, 2014. "National Food Security Act, 2013 and Food Security Outcomes in India," Vision, , vol. 18(4), pages 365-370, December.
    18. Lucie Gadenne & Samuel Norris & Monica Singhal & Sandip Sukhtankar, 2024. "In-Kind Transfers as Insurance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(9), pages 2861-2897, September.
    19. Abay, Kibrom A. & Ibrahim, Hosam & Breisinger, Clemens, 2022. "Food policies and obesity in low- and middle-income countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    20. Sudha Narayanan & Nicolas Gerber & Udayan Rathore & Karthikeya Naraparaju, 2017. "Can social safety nets protect public health? The effect of India's workfare and foodgrain subsidy programmes on anaemia," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2017-021, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Food Security and Poverty; International Development;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ags:aaea16:235649. 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: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aaeaaea.html .

    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.