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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Liangzhi You

Liangzhi You is a Senior Research Fellow and theme leader in the Foresight and Policy Modeling Unit, based in Washington, DC. His research focuses on climate resilience, spatial data and analytics, agroecosystems, and agricultural science policy. Gridded crop production data of the world (SPAM) and the agricultural technology evaluation model (DREAM) are among his research contributions. 

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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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experts

Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion

John Hoddinott

Nonresident Fellow

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Bio

John Hoddinott is a Nonresident Fellow in the Poverty Health and Nutrition Division. He is also H.E. Babcock Professor of Food & Nutrition Economics and Policy, Cornell University. He was formerly a deputy director of the Poverty Health and Nutrition Division of IFPRI. A Canadian citizen, Hoddinott holds a B.A. in economics from the University of Toronto, an M.A. from York University and a D.Phil. in Economics from the University of Oxford.

His principal research interest lies in the microeconometric analysis of issues in development economics. John is especially interested in the causes of poverty, food insecurity and undernutrition, and the design and evaluation of interventions that would reduce these. Much of his current research has focused on the determinants and consequences of human capital formation. This builds on his earlier work on modeling the processes of intra-household resource allocation and on labor markets. John has also had involvement in discussions surrounding aid flows, responses to the 2008 food price crisis and reforms to the global food security architecture such as the Food Aid Convention.

Publications

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RePEc Author Profile

Videos

Publications

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Opinion Piece

How programme design and local context shape the lasting effects of cash and food transfers

2024Ahmed, Akhter; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Kolt, Bastien; Roy, Shalini; Tauseef, Salauddin
Details

How programme design and local context shape the lasting effects of cash and food transfers

A transfer programme in Bangladesh led to sustained consumption increases and reduced poverty four years post-programme, but design and context mattered. Cash and food transfer programmes in low- and middle-income countries have been shown to be highly effective in increasing household consumption and reducing household poverty in the short term ​(Bastagli et al. 2016, Hidrobo et al. 2018, ​Borga and D’Ambrosio 2021, Ravallion 2016​​). But evidence on whether they sustain longer-term impacts after programmes end is more mixed. Some studies of transfer programmes show significant sustained medium- to long-term impacts on consumption and poverty (​e.g. Carneiro et al. 2021, Stoeffler et al. 2020, ​Macours et al. 2022​)​, but others show effects fading out (e.g. Handa et al. 2019, Cahyadi et al. 2020, Haushofer and Shapiro 2018 ​)​. Some interventions combining transfers with additional components such as cash “plus” programmes or multi-faceted graduation models sustain impacts on consumption four to ten years post-intervention (Bandiera et al. 2017, Banerjee et al. 2022), while others do not (Brune et al. 2022).

Year published

2024

Authors

Ahmed, Akhter; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Kolt, Bastien; Roy, Shalini; Tauseef, Salauddin

Citation

Ahmed, Akhter; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Kolt, Bastien; Roy, Shalini; and Tauseef, Salauddin. 2024. How programme design and local context shape the lasting effects of cash and food transfers. VoxDev article. Published online on December 16, 2024. https://voxdev.org/topic/health/how-programme-design-and-local-context-shape-lasting-effects-cash-and-food-transfers

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Southern Asia; Poverty; Cash Transfers; Aid Programmes; Consumption

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Opinion Piece

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Journal Article

Sustainable poverty reduction through social assistance: Modality, context, and complementary programming in Bangladesh

2024Ahmed, Akhter; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Kolt, Bastien; Roy, Shalini; Tauseef, Salauddin
Details

Sustainable poverty reduction through social assistance: Modality, context, and complementary programming in Bangladesh

Social assistance programs can increase consumption and reduce poverty, but less is known about whether these impacts are sustained after programs end, or how design and context influence sustainability. Using data collected in two regions of Bangladesh four years after a randomized intervention ended, we find that combining cash transfers with complementary programming led to sustained increases in consumption and reductions in poverty. Combining food transfers with complementary programming showed similar patterns, to a lesser extent. Cash alone had context-specific sustained effects; food alone had no sustained impacts. Results suggest that context, modality, and complementary programming matter for sustained impacts.

Year published

2024

Authors

Ahmed, Akhter; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Kolt, Bastien; Roy, Shalini; Tauseef, Salauddin

Citation

Ahmed, Akhter; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John; Kolt, Bastien; Roy, Shalini; and Tauseef, Salauddin. Sustainable poverty reduction through social assistance: Modality, context, and complementary programming in Bangladesh. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. Article in Press. First online on December 5, 2024. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20230108&from=f

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Southern Asia; Aid Programmes; Poverty; Sustainability; Cash Transfers; Food; Social Protection

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Journal Article

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Working Paper

Securing food, building livelihoods? A 15-year appraisal of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme

2024Hoddinott, John; Berhane, Guush; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Kumar, Neha; Lind, Jeremy; Sabates-Wheeler, Rachel; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum
Details

Securing food, building livelihoods? A 15-year appraisal of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme

-We assess the impact of a large-scale social protection intervention, Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), over a 15-year period. -We find that the PSNP had a positive impact on food security but inconsistent impacts on assets. There were positive impacts on fertilizer use, investments in terracing, and cereal yields but only when the program was twinned with complementary programming. -The PSNP enabled households to be more resilient to covariate shocks. There were no adverse incentive effects on labour supply or fertility. There is some evidence that it improved schooling outcomes and reduced child labour but not child nutrition outcomes. -Payment levels, uncertainty about when payments would take place, and processes associated with making payments all played a role in generating these mixed impacts. -These also illustrate that while complementary programming can enhance the impact of transfers, adding complementary programming at scale is challenging when resources are limited.

Year published

2024

Authors

Hoddinott, John; Berhane, Guush; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Kumar, Neha; Lind, Jeremy; Sabates-Wheeler, Rachel; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum

Citation

Hoddinott, John; Berhane, Guush; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hirvonen, Kalle; Kumar, Neha; Lind, Jeremy; Sabates-Wheeler, Rachel; and Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum. 2024. Securing food, building livelihoods? A 15-year appraisal of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme. WIDER Working Paper 2024/76. Helsinki: UNU-WIDER. https://doi.org/10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2024/539-4

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Food Security; Social Protection; Fertilizers; Terrace Cropping; Cereal Crops; Resilience; Labour; Nutrition

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.35188/unu-wider/2024/539-4 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper

Blogs

Ethiopia’s social safety net effective in limiting COVID-19 impacts on rural food insecurity
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 28, 2021

Ethiopia’s social safety net effective in limiting COVID-19 impacts on rural food insecurity

By Kibrom A. Abay, Guush Berhane, John Hoddinott, and Kibrom Tafere

A survey shows such programs can be effective in addressing the impacts of sudden shocks.

Impact study demonstrates Bt brinjal eggplant variety helps farmers in Bangladesh earn more with less pesticide
IFPRI Blog
 | 
October 18, 2019

Impact study demonstrates Bt brinjal eggplant variety helps farmers in Bangladesh earn more with less pesticide

By Akhter Ahmed, John Hoddinott, Paul Tanger, and Lesley Perlman

A new genetically-engineered pest-resistant eggplant variety shows promise.

Rohingya in Bangladesh are surviving – but their long-term prospects are grim
IFPRI Blog
 | 
July 02, 2019

Rohingya in Bangladesh are surviving – but their long-term prospects are grim

By Paul Dorosh and John Hoddinott

Aid efforts have averted a potential humanitarian disaster. Needed now – a long-term solution.

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Events

The Forced Exile of Rohingyas into Bangladesh: Economic and Nutritional Outcomes and Future Policy Options
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

July 10, 2019, 12:15 – 1:45 pm

The Forced Exile of Rohingyas into Bangladesh: Economic and Nutritional Outcomes and Future Policy Options

More than 600,000 Rohingya people fled violence in Myanmar in 2017 and crossed into southeastern Bangladesh, joining 200,000 to 400,000 other forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.   This seminar will include analysis of incomes, employment, food security, and nutrition based on a household survey conducted in camps housing Rohingyas and in neighboring host communities. Model simulations […]

News

September 16, 2020 | In the News

Indian farmers can’t wait anymore, they are sowing seeds of GM crops one Bt brinjal at a time (The Print)

The Print (India) published an article on how the Modi govt’s nod to field trials of two brinjal varieties comes after years of delayed decisions, leaving farmers to deal with daily risks of agriculture. Whereas the projects failed in India, Bangladesh picked up where India left off.  IFPRI, together with the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), carried out […]

October 24, 2019 | Press Release

NEW STUDY: Food markets near Ethiopia’s poor provide too little diversity at too high a price for optimum child health

Washington, D.C.: The rural poor in Ethiopia tend to live near lower-quality markets that sell fewer food groups at high prices, adversely impacting the health of children in these communities, a new study from researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has found. The findings, drawn from data from rural Ethiopia, mark the […]

October 11, 2019 | In the News

Merit of Bt brinjal technology

The Financial Express (India) published an op-ed by Abdul Bayer who wrote it’s time to pay more attention to non-rice crops. IFPRI, in a coauthored paper by Akhter Ahmed, John Hoddinott, Naveen Abedin, Nusrat Hossain discussed the results of the GM crop eggplant. It looked at pesticide use, infestation, net yields, and health.

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