ABSTRACT

This paper evaluates the impact of unconditional cash transfers (UCT) on the indicators of food accessibility in the urban and rural areas of Pakistan. Previous empirical evidences show poor food security in the country; however, there is lack of literature on this investigation in the context of UCT specifically the highest coverage providing social assistance programme that is the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). Examining the impact on calorie intake can help policy makers understand how households spend this additional source of income and address effectively concerns regarding food security. Propensity score matching (PSM) technique is used to analyse the latest nationally representative data. Being a recipient of the UCT is found to be significant in explaining the outcome indicator of food accessibility. Disaggregation into food groups show that recipient households increase their consumption of calories from cereals and pulses, vegetables and sugary products. Although there is evidence to support the positive and significant effects of being a recipient, the effects are small. The results indicate that the households remain vulnerable due to the small amount of transfer.

摘要

本文评估了无条件现金转移（UCT）对巴基斯坦城乡地区粮食可及性指标的影响。以往的经验证据表明该国粮食安全状况不佳；然而，在 UCT 背景下缺乏关于这项调查的文献，特别是覆盖率最高的提供社会援助计划，即贝娜齐尔收入支持计划 (BISP)。检查对卡路里摄入量的影响可以帮助政策制定者了解家庭如何花费这一额外收入来源，并有效解决对粮食安全的担忧。倾向评分匹配（PSM）技术用于分析最新的全国代表性数据。研究发现，成为 UCT 的接受者对于解释食品可及性的结果指标具有重要意义。按食物类别分类显示，受援家庭增加了谷物和豆类、蔬菜和含糖产品的热量消耗。尽管有证据支持成为接受者会产生积极而重大的影响，但影响很小。结果表明，由于转移支付金额较小，家庭仍然处于脆弱状态。