Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) are programs that transfer cash, generally to poor households, on the condition that those households make pre specified investments in the human capital of their children. The report shows that there is good evidence that CCTs have improved the lives of poor people. Transfers generally have been well targeted to poor households, have raised consumption levels, and have reduced poverty, by a substantial amount in some countries. Offsetting adjustments that could have blunted the impact of transfers, such as reductions in the labor market participation of beneficiaries, have been relatively modest. The report also considers the rationale for conditioning the transfers on the use of specific health and education services by program beneficiaries. Thus CCTs have increased the likelihood that households will take their children for preventive health checkups, but that has not always led to better child nutritional status; school enrollment rates have increased substantially among program beneficiaries, but there is little evidence of improvements in learning outcomes. These findings suggest that to maximize their potential effects on the accumulation of human capital, CCTs should be combined with other programs to improve the quality of the supply of health and education services, and should provide other supporting services.

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Conditional cash transfers : reducing present and future poverty

Objective Recent research on access to food among low-income populations in industrialised countries has begun to focus on neighbourhood food availability as a key determinant of dietary behaviour. This study examined the relationship between various measures of food store access and household fruit and vegetable use among participants in the Food Stamp Program, America's largest domestic food assistance programme. Design A secondary data analysis was conducted using the 1996-97 National Food Stamp Program Survey. The survey employed a 1-week food inventory method, including two at-home interviews, to determine household food use. Separate linear regression models were developed to analyse fruit and vegetable use. Independent variables included distance to store, travel time to store, ownership of a car and difficulty of supermarket access. All models controlled for a full set of socio-economic variables. Subjects A nationally representative sample of participants (n=963) in the Food Stamp Program. Results After controlling for confounding variables, easy access to supermarket shopping was associated with increased household use of fruits (84 grams per adult equivalent per day; 95% confidence interval 5, 162). Distance from home to food store was inversely associated with fruit use by households. Similar patterns were seen with vegetable use, though associations were not significant. Conclusions Environmental factors are importantly related to dietary choice in a nationally representative sample of low-income households, reinforcing the importance of including such factors in interventions that seek to effect dietary improvements.

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Food store access and household fruit and vegetable use among participants in the US Food Stamp Program

Household scale economies are plausibly attributed to shared household public goods that make larger households better off at the same level of per capita resources. Larger households should therefore have higher per capita consumption of private goods, such as food, provided that they do not substitute too much toward the effectively cheaper public goods. The evidence shows exactly the opposite. Data from rich and poor countries indicate that, at constant per capita total expenditure, the per capita demand for food decreases with household size and that it does so most in the poorest countries, where substitution should be the least.

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Economies of Scale, Household Size, and the Demand for Food

All countries fund safety net programs for the protection of their people Though an increasing number of safety net programs are extremely well thought out, adroitly implemented, and demonstrably effective, many others are not This book aims to assist those concerned with social policy to understand why countries need social assistance, what kind of safety programs will serve those best and how to develop such programs for maximum effectiveness Safety nets are part of a broader poverty reduction strategy interacting with and working alongside of social insurance; health, education, and financial services; the provision of utilities and roads; and other policies aimed at reducing poverty and managing risk Though useful, safety nets are not a panacea, and there are real concerns over whether they are affordable and administratively feasible or desirable in light of the various negative incentives they might create In most settings where there is political will to do so, such concerns can be managed through a number of prudent design and implementation features Much information and innovation exist on these topics; this book summarizes, references, and builds on this knowledge base to promote well-crafted safety nets and safety net policy

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For Protection and Promotion: The Design and Implementation of Effective Safety Nets

The Availability and Cost of Healthier Food Alternatives

Using findings from four demonstrations, we examine estimates of the effect on household food expenditures of converting food stamps into a cash transfer. We provide arguments for why the estimate produced by one of the demonstrations should be regarded as an outlier. The disparity in the difference-in-means estimates from the remaining three demonstrations is reduced when each is normalized by dividing by the average value of benefits in the respective demonstration site. The normalized estimates imply a reduction in food expenditures of between 18 and 28 cents for each dollar of food stamps cashed out. At the aggregate level, these estimates imply that nationwide cashout would result in a reduction in household food spending of between 4.2 and 6.5 billion dollars, whereas the associated reduction in the cost of administering the Food Stamp Program would be about 0.3 billion dollars.

The Effect of Food Stamp Cashout on Food Expenditures: An Assessment of the Findings from Four Demonstrations

http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~miwhite//Ohls-Weisberg-White.pdf

The Effect of Zoning on Land Value

Public policy toward low income housing and filtering in housing markets

Concurs with earlier research showing that most low-income households live close to grocery stores or supermarkets although those in rural areas may be much farther away. Also examines attitudinal data related to shopping patterns and shows that many engage in careful shopping to stretch their food-buying resources. Call the Food and Nutrition Service at 703-305-2133 for printed copies.

Food Stamp Participants' Access to Food Retailers

This report finds that the typical Food Stamp client is quite satisfied with services, although misperceptions about eligibility deter many eligible households from participating, and costs to comply with program requirements are significant.

James C. Ohls

Papers

The Effect of Food Stamp Cashout on Food Expenditures: An Assessment of the Findings from Four Demonstrations

The Effect of Zoning on Land Value

Public policy toward low income housing and filtering in housing markets

Food Stamp Participants' Access to Food Retailers

Customer Service in the Food Stamp Program