Excluding the Rural Population: The Impact of Public Expenditure on Child Malnutrition in Peru
研究秘鲁地区公共支出对儿童营养的影响，发现公共支出仅改善城市儿童状况，农村儿童及城市中的弱势群体（土著、体弱儿童）未受益，揭示了初始条件的重要性。
Why is the urban-rural gap in child \n malnutrition increasing in Peru despite government efforts \n to improve the provision of public services? To answer this \n question, the impact of regional public expenditure in Peru \n on young children's nutritional outcomes is examined. \n To account for policy endogeneity, public expenditures are \n instrumented using unanticipated regional mining revenues. \n Even after accounting for changes in expenditure composition \n due to increases in mining revenues, public spending has a \n significant and positive impact on children's outcomes \n only in urban areas. However, even in urban areas, barriers \n exist that diminish the effectiveness of public expenditure, \n so indigenous and frailer children in these areas do not \n benefit from public spending. These children face \n constraints that limit their ability to use public services. \n This result reveals the paramount importance of initial \n conditions. In rural areas, possibly because of the lower \n quantity and quality of public services, there is no \n positive effect for any children.