Cash or Food Security through the Public Distribution System? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Delhi, India

Abstract

This paper examines a randomized intervention in Delhi, India, that provided unconditional cash transfer to a group of households as a replacement for food security by means of a below poverty line card. A special feature of our study is that our experiment allows to differentiate between beneficial effects due to unconditional cash transfers and the opening of bank accounts. We find that the unconditional cash transfer does not lead to a decline in food security, but provides opportunities for households to shift to other nutritious options in the non-cereal segment.

Keywords: cash transfers, randomised controlled trial, food security, Asia, India

JEL Classification: C93, I32, O16, O17