The impact of Progresa on food consumption

" This paper as exemplified by the Millennium Declaration of the United Nations, the reduction of poverty and hunger are now seen as central objectives of international development. Yet the modalities for attaining these goals are contested. Further, while it might be assumed that interventions that alleviate poverty will automatically reduce hunger, a number of studies of the relationship between income and the acquisition of food suggest that this assumption may be incorrect. There are sharply divergent views as to how much narrowly targeted interventions actually benefit the poor. These result from differing assessments of three issues: whether better targeting outcomes are likely to be achieved, whether such methods are cost-effective, and whether the living standards of the poor are improved by such targeted interventions. This paper contributes to this debate through an analysis of a Mexican antipoverty program called PROGRESA (the Programa de Educación, Salud y Alimentación). PROGRESA provides cash transfers linked to children's enrollment and regular school attendance and to clinic attendance. By 2000, it reached approximately 2.6 million families, about 40 percent of all rural families and about one-ninth of all families in Mexico. We use a longitudinal sample of approximately 24,000 households from 506 communities.... We find that the impact is greatest on dietary quality as measured by the acquisition of calories from vegetable and animal products a finding consistent with the view of respondents themselves that PROGRESA was enabling them to to eat better" from Authors' Abstract.Progresa ,

The impact of Progresa on food consumption

" This paper as exemplified by the Millennium Declaration of the United Nations, the reduction of poverty and hunger are now seen as central objectives of international development. Yet the modalities for attaining these goals are contested. Further, while it might be assumed that interventions that alleviate poverty will automatically reduce hunger, a number of studies of the relationship between income and the acquisition of food suggest that this assumption may be incorrect. There are sharply divergent views as to how much narrowly targeted interventions actually benefit the poor. These result from differing assessments of three issues: whether better targeting outcomes are likely to be achieved, whether such methods are cost-effective, and whether the living standards of the poor are improved by such targeted interventions. This paper contributes to this debate through an analysis of a Mexican antipoverty program called PROGRESA (the Programa de Educación, Salud y Alimentación). PROGRESA provides cash transfers linked to children's enrollment and regular school attendance and to clinic attendance. By 2000, it reached approximately 2.6 million families, about 40 percent of all rural families and about one-ninth of all families in Mexico. We use a longitudinal sample of approximately 24,000 households from 506 communities.... We find that the impact is greatest on dietary quality as measured by the acquisition of calories from vegetable and animal products a finding consistent with the view of respondents themselves that PROGRESA was enabling them to to eat better" from Authors' Abstract.Progresa ,

Labor market shocks and their impacts on work and schooling

The authors use individual observations from a panel of families during the period of the peso crisis in Mexico to investigate whether and how labor market shocks, as proxied by changes in the gender- and age-specific unemployment rates in the metropolitan area of the household, affect the intertemporal time allocation of adult members and children. Their findings suggest that significant added-worker effects are in operation, especially for adult females of poorer households and in some cases children. The same shocks also increase significantly the probability that children do not continue school in the next year. The paper also presents evidence suggesting differential treatment based on the sex of children within families.FCND ,Unemployment Mexico. ,Labor market Mexico. ,Urban economics. ,Economic situation. ,Insurance. ,Gender issues. ,

Labor market shocks and their impacts on work and schooling

The authors use individual observations from a panel of families during the period of the peso crisis in Mexico to investigate whether and how labor market shocks, as proxied by changes in the gender- and age-specific unemployment rates in the metropolitan area of the household, affect the intertemporal time allocation of adult members and children. Their findings suggest that significant added-worker effects are in operation, especially for adult females of poorer households and in some cases children. The same shocks also increase significantly the probability that children do not continue school in the next year. The paper also presents evidence suggesting differential treatment based on the sex of children within families.FCND ,Unemployment Mexico. ,Labor market Mexico. ,Urban economics. ,Economic situation. ,Insurance. ,Gender issues. ,