Information and Decision-Making Power: Explicating the Impact of Information Provision in the Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Food Consumption Share in the Philippines

Abstract

We studied the impact of distributing nutritional information in the conditional cash transfer program on intrahousehold food expenditure allocation in the Philippines. Using the original randomized controlled trials dataset, which was collected 2 months after a social experiment to teach nutrition information, we found that providing nutrition information improved mothers’ nutrition knowledge, but no significant positive effects were found on the Engel coefficient. However, the provision of information to mothers with greater intrahousehold decision-making power tends to increase the consumption ratio of food. These results imply that not only raising awareness through information provision, but also female leadership and strong decision-making power within the household play an essential role in changing household budget allocations and improving child welfare.

Keywords

• conditional cash transfer
• Engel coefficient
• intrahousehold allocation
• information provision