9 research outputs found
Conceptualising COVID-19âs impacts on household food security
COVID-19 undermines food security both directly, by disrupting food systems, and indirectly, through the impacts of lockdowns
on household incomes and physical access to food. COVID-19 and responses to the pandemic could undermine food production,
processing and marketing, but the most concerning impacts are on the demand-side â economic and physical access to food. This
paper identifies three complementary frameworks that can contribute to understanding these effects, which are expected to persist
into the post-pandemic phase, after lockdowns are lifted. FAOâs âfour pillarsââ availability, access, stability and utilisation â and
the âfood systemsâ approach both provide holistic frameworks for analysing food security. Senâs âentitlementâ approach is useful
for disaggregating demand-side effects on household production-, labour-, trade- and transfer-based entitlements to food.
Drawing on the strengths of each of these frameworks can enhance the understanding of the pandemicâs impacts on food security,
while also pinpointing areas for governments and other actors to intervene in the food system, to protect the food security of
households left vulnerable by COVID-19 and public responses
Shaping cash transfer impacts through âsoft-conditionsâ: evidence from Lesotho
Cash transfer programmes have been shown to have positive effects on a variety of outcomes. While much of the literature focuses on the role of conditionality in achieving desired impact, this paper focuses on the role of âsoft conditionalityâ implemented through both âlabellingâ and âmessagingâ in evaluating the impact of the Child Grants Program in Lesotho, an unconditional cash transfer programme targeting poor households with orphans and vulnerable children. Beneficiary households received a clear message that the transfer should be spent on the interest and needs of children. Our
findings suggest that âsoft conditionalityâ does play a role in increasing expenditure for children, especially on education, clothing and footwear. Results indicate in fact that transfer income is spent differently from general income as it exerts both an income and a substitution effect. This behavioural change is confirmed by comparing the ex-ante expected behaviours with the ex-post actual response to the programme. We find that for expenditure categories linked to the well-being of children the expost response was much higher than the ex-ante expected behaviour
Is Graduation from Social Safety Nets Possible? Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
In the last decade social cash transfer programmes have become extremely popular in sub?Saharan Africa, and are often portrayed as an instrument that can facilitate graduation out of poverty. The evidence on whether social cash transfers have had actual effects on graduation, however, is limited. This article provides a cross?country reflection of the potential effects of social cash transfers on graduation, drawing from impact evaluation results of cash transfer programmes in Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho and Zambia. We analyse whether social cash transfers have improved the likelihood of graduation, through increased productivity, income generation and resilience to shocks. We identify which factors in terms of programme implementation and household characteristics can increase the likelihood of cash transfer programmes facilitating graduation from poverty
Transforming gender constraints in the agricultural sector: The potential of social protection programmes
The impact of cash transfers on social determinants of health and health inequalities in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review
Open Data on a Closed Shop? Assessing the potential of transparency initiatives with a focus on efforts to strengthen capacity development support
Returns to spending on agricultural extension: the case of the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) program of Ugandaâ
Fortified Foods Are Major Contributors to Apparent Intakes of Vitamin A and Iodine, but Not Iron, in Diets of Women of Reproductive Age in 4 African Countries
Reforming Moldovan social assistance: Poor Laws for the European fringe?
The small south-eastern European Republic of Moldova is often referred to as 'the poorhouse of the continent'. During its transition from a communist to a market economy, inequality and poverty rose exponentially - with the latter reaching a peak of 70% in 1999. Thus, a new social contract between state and society had to be fabricated. The Soviet social protection system, designed around the needs of the workforce and specific groups, was unable to meet the challenges posed by transition. A reform seemed inevitable, re-targeting resources at the most needy. However, Western means-tested models could not be simply transferred; path-dependencies along with donor interventions shaped and altered the policy process