Food Price Subsidies and Nutrition: Evidence from State Reforms to India’s Public Distribution System

Abstract

We investigate whether food price subsidies affect household nutrition using a dramatic expansion of the availability of subsidized rice in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh in the early 2000's. Households in Chhattisgarh improved their nutritional intake relative to households in districts bordering the state as the availability of subsidized rice expanded. This increase is driven by households most likely to be eligible for rice subsidies, and we do not find evidence that households least likely to be eligible changed their diet. These results differ from recent studies suggesting that food subsidies may have little effect on nutrition.

Social Safety Nets for Food and Nutritional Security in India

“…Krishnamurthy et al (2014) find in their study of the TDPS that the relative increase in non-grain consumption in border districts of Chhattisgarh was accompanied by an increase in consumption of protein, calcium and iron by 12.9 percentage point, 26.4 percentage points and 14.2 percentage points respectively. Elsewhere, in Andhra Pradesh, triple difference estimates from a multi-round survey of rural households suggest that NREGA participants improved their caloric and protein intakes, with energy intake going up to 253 kilocalories (kcal) per day from 152 kcal per day prior to their participation.…”

Unraveling India's Malnutrition dilemma - a path toward nutrition-sensitive agriculture.

“…In 2005, measures were taken to improve the system's coverage, efficiency, and targeting (Dreze and Sen, 2013;Dreze and Khera, 2015). In states where the PDS restructuring was carried out successfully, it was found to have increased calorie intake and improved dietary diversity through income effects (Kishore and Chakrabarati, 2015;Rahman, 2015;Krishnamurthy et al, 2017).…”

Food Security and Nutrition in Rural India: Understanding State Level Heterogeneity

“…Recent evidences, though show an appreciable expansion coverage of these programs which has led to a positive impact on various aspects of nutrition. Expansion of PDS coverage has led an increase in the intake of calories and household dietary quality (Kaul 2018; Kishore and Chakrabarti 2015; Krishnamurthy, Pathania, and Tandon 2017; Rahman 2016). Similarly, ICDS has had an significant effect in reducing malnutrition (Jain 2015; Pingali and Rao 2016).…”

“…Similarly, DCP in MP has been championed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who consistently proclaims himself as the “son of a small farmer”. The platform of food procurement has enable him to garner votes through the pro‐farmer policy as well raising the regional stakes in overall food economy (Krishnamurthy 2012). These initiatives lead us to hearken to the assertion by Manor (2015) that state level politics as policies in India are now much closely associated with the methods of populism and patronage distribution chosen by the Chief Minister.…”