Household Responses to Food Subsidies: Evidence from India
利用印度各州补贴规则和市场价格差异，研究发现公共分配系统对家庭热量摄入有微小正面影响，但腐败严重的州效果显著减弱。
The Indian Public Distribution System is one of the world’s largest food security programs and provides a monthly quota of cereals at discounted prices to poor households. I study the effect of the program on nutritional outcomes by exploiting variations in value of the subsidy resulting from differences in state program rules and local market prices. Using household consumption data, I find a small but positive impact on calories from all food groups, not just cereals. The impact on caloric intake is substantially smaller in states where corruption is high.