Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP7326
Authors: Orazio Attanasio; Erich Battistin; Alice Mesnard
Abstract: We study food Engel curves among the poor population targeted by a conditional cash transfer programme in Colombia. After controlling for the endogeneity of total expenditure and for the (unobserved) variability of prices across villages, the best fit is provided by a log-linear specification. Our estimates imply that an increase in total expenditure by 10% would lead to a decrease of 1% in the share of food. However, quasi-experimental estimates of the impact of the programme on total and food consumption show that the share of food increases, suggesting that the programme has more complex impacts on expenditure patterns than those induced by higher household income and expenditure.
Keywords: Demand Patterns; Evaluation of Welfare Programmes; Food Engel Curves
JEL Codes: C52; D12; I38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| total expenditure (P44) | share of food in total consumption (D12) |
| conditional cash transfer program (H53) | share of food consumed (F62) |
| conditional cash transfer program (H53) | total expenditure (P44) |
| total expenditure (P44) | food consumption (D12) |
| conditional cash transfer program (H53) | household decision-making power (D13) |
| household decision-making power (D13) | consumption patterns (D10) |
| conditional cash transfer program (H53) | expenditures (H72) |