| dc.description.abstract |
Food aid is accused of causing labor disincentives, yet little empirical evidence
tests this theory. In this paper, I use a panel survey from Bangladesh after the 1998
flood to investigate whether in-kind food aid created agricultural labor disincentives
among individuals. Checking the robustness of my results and correcting for
disadvantages associated with each model used, I employ three different models. I find
that food aid had no effect in a fixed effects model; had a positive association six
months after the flood in a tobit model; and, in OLS regressions, had a negative
association immediately after the flood and a positive association six months after the
flood. On the basis of these findings, I recommend that food aid should be used as
Barrett and Maxwell (2005) suggest, in short-term food emergencies with markets
unresponsive to demand. When well targeted, food aid mitigates possible labor
disincentives and can be a safety net for disaster victims. More research is needed to
determine the specific factors that hindered labor disincentives and caused the positive
labor effect. |
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