Electronic Food Vouchers: Evidence from an At-Scale Experiment in Indonesiat

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Banerjee, Abhijit; Hanna, Rema; Olken, Benjamin A.; Satriawan, Elan; Sumarto, Sudarno
• 署名单位: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Harvard University; Gadjah Mada University
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20210461
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 514-547
• 关键词: IN-KIND TRANSFERS; field experiment; cash; redistribution; CORRUPTION; selection; IMPACT

摘要

We compare how in-kind food assistance and an electronic voucher -based program affect the delivery of aid in practice. The Government of Indonesia randomized across 105 districts the transition from in-kind rice to approximately equivalent electronic vouchers redeemable for rice and eggs at a network of private agents. Targeted households received 46 percent more assistance in voucher areas. For the bottom 15 percent of households at baseline, poverty fell 20 percent. Voucher recipients received higher-quality rice, and increased consumption of eggs. The results suggest moving from a manual in-kind to electronic voucher-based program reduced poverty through increased adherence to program design. (JEL H53, I18, I32, I38, O12)