Poverty reduction impact of food aid in rural Ethiopia

This paper evaluates the impact of food aid (food-for-work and free food distribution) on rural poverty in Ethiopia. Using household panel survey data, we estimate causal impacts using difference-in-difference matching methods and endogenous switching regression. We find that while participation in both types of food aid programmes reduces the incidence of poverty, their impact is not equal. Participation in food-for-work did not contribute to reducing the poverty gap and distribution among the poor, while free food distribution is effective in reducing all poverty measures. Results also show a heterogeneous impact of food aid on poverty across gender.