Cash Transfers, Diet Quality, and Child Growth Among Refugee Children: Evidence from Turkey’s ESSN Program

Murat Demirci (), Andrew Foster and Murat Kirdar ()
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Murat Demirci: Koc University
Andrew Foster: Brown University
Murat Kirdar: Koc University

No 18731, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: This study examines the impact of the world’s largest humanitarian unconditional cash transfer program targeting refugees—the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) program—on child nutrition and growth outcomes. Using the 2018 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey, which includes a representative sample of Syrian refugees, and employing a regression discontinuity design, we assess the program’s effects on child growth—measured by height-for-age (HAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ), and weight-for-height (WHZ), including their extreme values—and on child-level nutrition, measured across five major food categories. We find that receiving cash transfers increases HAZ by 0.6 to 0.8 standard deviations. Additionally, the transfers reduce the incidence of both underweight and overweight status based on WAZ scores. WHZ scores and the incidence of overweight status based on WHZ also decline. Examining the program's impact on nutrition, we find a significant reduction in children’s energy-dense, nutrient-poor food consumption, consistent with the decrease in overweight incidence. Overall, the ESSN program improves food consumption patterns among refugees, leading to better child growth outcomes.

Keywords: refugees; cash transfers; anthropometrics; nutrition; program evaluation; Turkey (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F22 I14 I15 I38 O15 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-06
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