Kids eat free: School feeding and family spending on education

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Year: 2022
Volume: 193
Issue: C
Pages: 196-212

Authors (2)

Wang, Haining (not in RePEc) Cheng, Zhiming (Macquarie University)

Score contribution per author:

1.009 = (α=2.02 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We examine the relationship between children's participation in the Nutrition Improvement Programme (NIP) and household education expenditure on students under compulsory education in rural China. We find that participating in the school feeding programme can significantly increase household investment in children's education, especially in-school education expenditure. This positive relationship may be mediated by family economic status, parental time investment in children's education, and children's health status and cognitive ability. There is considerable heterogeneity in the impacts of the school feeding programme across subsamples. In general, male children and children from disadvantaged families, such as those in low- and middle-income households, those with less educated parents, and those left behind by migrant parents, are likely to benefit more from the school feeding programme. We also find suggestive evidence of intrahousehold resource reallocation away from eligible female children in response to the school feeding programme.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jeborg:v:193:y:2022:i:c:p:196-212
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25