The psychological toll of food insecurity

Mo Alloush and Jeffrey Bloem

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2022, vol. 204, issue C, 618-630

Abstract: We investigate the relationship between food insecurity and psychological distress among a sample of poor households in Lebanon. We first document large unconditional differences in various measures of psychological distress based on whether a respondent lives in a household experiencing acute food insecurity. Next we show that these differences persist even when accounting for heterogeneity by interview timing, geography, and other characteristics. Considering results across a variety of regression specifications, we find that experiencing acute food insecurity increases scores on a psychological distress index by at least 0.16 standard deviations. These results carry implications for the literature on the mental health consequences of food insecurity and poverty alleviation policy.

Keywords: Food Insecurity; Psychological Well-being; Depression; Mental Health; Stress; Food Vouchers; Poverty; Lebanon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 I15 O12 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:204:y:2022:i:c:p:618-630

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2022.10.021

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