Impact evaluation of school feeding programs in Lao PDR

Alison Buttenheim, Harold Alderman and Jed Friedman ()

No 5518, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: Despite the popularity and widespread implementation of school feeding programs, evidence on the impact of school feeding on school participation and nutritional status is mixed. This study evaluates school feeding programs in three northern districts of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Feeding modalities included on-site feeding, take-home rations, and a combination. District-level implementation of the intervention sites and selective take-up present considerable evaluation challenges. To address these limitations, the authors use difference-in-difference estimators with propensity-score weighting to construct two plausible counterfactuals. They find minimal evidence that the school feeding schemes increased enrollment or improved children’s nutritional status. Several robustness checks and possible explanations for null findings are presented.

Keywords: Education For All; Youth and Governance; Nutrition; Primary Education; Food&Beverage Industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-01-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-lab and nep-ure
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5518

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