ABSTRACT

Some research suggests women are more likely to allocate additional resources to their children than are men. This perception has influenced policies such as in-kind food transfer programmes and cash transfer programmes, which often target women recipients. We assess whether targeting in-kind rice transfers to female versus male adult household members has a differential impact on children’s short-run nutritional status. We estimate the impacts of transfers of edible rice and rice seeds, randomly allocated to female or male adults, on three anthropometric indicators: BMI-for-age, arm-muscle area, and triceps skinfold thickness. The trial includes 481 children aged 3–11 years in a horticultural-foraging society of native Amazonians in Bolivia. On average, the gender of the transfer recipient does not influence child anthropometric dimensions, possibly due to norms of cooperation and sharing within and between households. We find limited evidence of heterogeneity in impacts. Transfers to women help children who were growth stunted at baseline to partially catch-up to their better-nourished age-sex peers and help boys (but not girls) and children in higher-income households increase their BMI-for-age. The results of this research point to the importance of considering cultural context in determining if allocating food transfers according to gender are most effective.

摘要

一些研究表明，与男性相比，女性更有可能为孩子分配额外的资源。这种看法影响了实物食品转移计划和现金转移计划等政策，这些政策通常针对女性接受者。我们评估了针对女性和男性成年家庭成员的实物大米转移是否对儿童的短期营养状况产生不同的影响。我们估计了随机分配给成年女性或男性的食用稻米和稻米种子的转移对三个人体测量指标的影响：年龄别体重指数、手臂肌肉面积和三头肌皮褶厚度。该试验包括 481 名年龄在 3-11 岁之间的儿童，他们来自玻利维亚当地亚马逊人的园艺觅食社会。平均而言，转移接受者的性别不会影响儿童的人体测量尺寸，可能是由于家庭内部和家庭之间的合作和共享规范。我们发现影响异质性的证据有限。对女性的转移帮助那些在基线时发育迟缓的儿童部分赶上营养更好的同龄同龄人，并帮助高收入家庭的男孩（但不是女孩）和儿童提高年龄别体重指数。这项研究的结果表明，在确定根据性别分配粮食转移是否最有效时，考虑文化背景的重要性。对女性的转移帮助那些在基线时发育迟缓的儿童部分赶上营养更好的同龄同龄人，并帮助高收入家庭的男孩（但不是女孩）和儿童提高年龄别体重指数。这项研究的结果表明，在确定根据性别分配粮食转移是否最有效时，考虑文化背景的重要性。对女性的转移帮助那些在基线时发育迟缓的儿童部分赶上营养更好的同龄同龄人，并帮助高收入家庭的男孩（但不是女孩）和儿童提高年龄别体重指数。这项研究的结果表明，在确定根据性别分配粮食转移是否最有效时，考虑文化背景的重要性。