@article{f9edf188f52045b783c19e193f684f86,
title = "The effect of gender targeting of food transfers on child nutritional status: experimental evidence from the Bolivian amazon",
abstract = "Some research suggests women are more likely to allocate additional resources to their children than are men. This perception has influenced policies such as in-kind food transfer programmes and cash transfer programmes, which often target women recipients. We assess whether targeting in-kind rice transfers to female versus male adult household members has a differential impact on children{\textquoteright}s short-run nutritional status. We estimate the impacts of transfers of edible rice and rice seeds, randomly allocated to female or male adults, on three anthropometric indicators: BMI-for-age, arm-muscle area, and triceps skinfold thickness. The trial includes 481 children aged 3–11 years in a horticultural-foraging society of native Amazonians in Bolivia. On average, the gender of the transfer recipient does not influence child anthropometric dimensions, possibly due to norms of cooperation and sharing within and between households. We find limited evidence of heterogeneity in impacts. Transfers to women help children who were growth stunted at baseline to partially catch-up to their better-nourished age-sex peers and help boys (but not girls) and children in higher-income households increase their BMI-for-age. The results of this research point to the importance of considering cultural context in determining if allocating food transfers according to gender are most effective.",
keywords = "Bolivia, Tsimane{\textquoteright}, in-kind transfers, indigenous people, randomised controlled trial, rice",
author = "Jonathan Bauchet and Eduardo Undurraga and Ariela Zycherman and Jere Behrman and William Leonard and Ricardo Godoy",
note = "Funding Information: We would like to thank the TAPS Bolivia Study Team for help during data collection, research seminar participants at the World Bank, MIT, and Brandeis University for comments on early drafts, and Camila Garc{\'i}a for assistance with . The Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health primarily financed the research on a grant entitled {\textquoteleft}Inequality, social capital and health in Bolivia{\textquoteright} (1R21HD050776). Secondary support also was provided by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Global Health Grant OPP1032713), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant R01 HD070993) and Grand Challenges Canada (Grant 0072-03). We obtained IRB approval from Northwestern University (IRB project approval # STU0007) and from the Tsimane{\textquoteright} Council –the governing body of Tsimane{\textquoteright}– before data collection. The characteristics of the in-kind transfers were defined in cooperation with the Tsimane{\textquoteright} Council. Funding Information: The Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health primarily financed the research on a grant entitled ?Inequality, social capital and health in Bolivia? (1R21HD050776). Secondary support also was provided by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Global Health Grant OPP1032713), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant R01 HD070993) and Grand Challenges Canada (Grant 0072-03). We would like to thank the TAPS Bolivia Study Team for help during data collection, research seminar participants at the World Bank, MIT, and Brandeis University for comments on early drafts, and Camila Garc?a for assistance with Figure 1. The Eunice Shriver Kennedy National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health primarily financed the research on a grant entitled ?Inequality, social capital and health in Bolivia? (1R21HD050776). Secondary support also was provided by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Global Health Grant OPP1032713), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Grant R01 HD070993) and Grand Challenges Canada (Grant 0072-03). We obtained IRB approval from Northwestern University (IRB project approval # STU0007) and from the Tsimane? Council ?the governing body of Tsimane?? before data collection. The characteristics of the in-kind transfers were defined in cooperation with the Tsimane? Council. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",
year = "2021",
doi = "10.1080/19439342.2021.1924833",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "13",
pages = "276--291",
journal = "Journal of Development Effectiveness",
issn = "1943-9342",
publisher = "Taylor and Francis Ltd.",
number = "3",
}