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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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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

Akhter Ahmed

Senior Research Fellow / Country Representative, IFPRI Bangladesh

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Ahmed Akhter

Bio

Akhter Ahmed is the Country Representative for IFPRI Bangladesh in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit. He is also the Chief of Party of the Feed the Future Bangladesh Research Activity. Since joining IFPRI in 1990, he has worked on strategies for agricultural and rural development, social protection, and women’s empowerment to reduce poverty, food insecurity, and the undernutrition of the poor in developing countries. In his first years at IFPRI, he worked on targeted interventions and participated in designing the innovative food for education program in Bangladesh, and then served as the leader of IFPRI’s collaborative project on food security research in Egypt. He also he worked on poverty and human development issues in Bangladesh, China, India, Malawi, the Philippines, and Turkey. Since 2010, Ahmed has been posted in Bangladesh where he led the Policy Research and Strategy Support Program (PRSSP) for Food Security and Agricultural Development. Before joining IFPRI, Akhter also worked with the World Bank and served as an Agricultural Economist for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He received a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Colorado State University and a master’s in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University.

Publications

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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

Resource thumbnail

Journal Article

Can transfers and complementary nutrition programming reduce intimate partner violence four years post-program? Experimental evidence from Bangladesh

2024Roy, Shalini; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John F.; Koch, Bastien; Ahmed, Akhter
Details

Can transfers and complementary nutrition programming reduce intimate partner violence four years post-program? Experimental evidence from Bangladesh

Little is known about whether reductions in intimate partner violence (IPV) from transfer programs persist. Using a randomized controlled trial, we find that women in rural Bangladesh who received cash transfers with complementary nutrition programming (including group-based training, home visits, and community meetings) experienced sustained reductions in IPV four years after the program ended. Neither cash transfers alone, nor food transfers with or without complementary nutrition programming, showed sustained impacts on IPV. Evidence suggests that cash with complementary nutrition programming sustained IPV reductions through persistent increases in women’s bargaining power, costs to men of perpetrating violence, and men’s emotional well-being.

Year published

2024

Authors

Roy, Shalini; Hidrobo, Melissa; Hoddinott, John F.; Koch, Bastien; Ahmed, Akhter

Citation

Roy, S., Hidrobo, M., Hoddinott, J.F., Koch, B., and Ahmed, A. 2024. “Can transfers and complementary nutrition programming reduce intimate partner violence four years post-program? Experimental evidence from Bangladesh.” Journal of Human Resources 59(6): 1714-1740. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0720-11014R2

Country/Region

Bangladesh

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Cash Transfers; Food Transfers; Behavior Change; Communication; Domestic Violence; Social Protection; Gender; Sustainability

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.0720-11014r2 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Journal Article

Events

Into, Through and Beyond USAID Programs: Lessons from the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index
IFPRI at External Event

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March 29, 2023, 9:00 – 10:15 am

Into, Through and Beyond USAID Programs: Lessons from the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index

Virtual Event: March 29, 2023 – 9:00 AM- 10:15 AM EDT. This webinar will mark the launch of two briefs, one on the use cases of WEAI in USAID projects worldwide and the other on how WEAI has informed and supported the design of policies and programs in Bangladesh.

Measuring What Matters: 10 Years of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, why has it mattered, and what’s next?
IFPRI at External Event

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March 24, 2022, 9:00 – 10:30 am

Measuring What Matters: 10 Years of the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index, why has it mattered, and what’s next?

Virtual Event: March 24, 2022 – 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM EDT. This side event will provide an opportunity to discuss country experiences in using the WEAI and reflect on its impact on measuring and tracking gender equity and equality.

Virtual Event - Social Safety Nets and COVID-19: Can we protect food security and nutrition?
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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June 11, 2020, 9:30 – 10:45 am

Virtual Event – Social Safety Nets and COVID-19: Can we protect food security and nutrition?

How have social safety net programs responded to COVID-19? Are food security & nutrition issues effectively addressed with these responses? What and where are opportunities and future challenges? Watch Video

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News

February 11, 2024 | In the News

Agricultural growth key to accelerated poverty reduction in Bangladesh (Financial Express)

Senior research fellow and country representative, Akhter Ahmed writes in an op-ed for the Financial Express (Bangladesh) that the country “has witnessed substantial economic growth over the past decade, with an average annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.6 per cent between 2016 and 2022. Notably, the country experienced a 3.4 per cent increase in GDP in 2020, making Bangladesh one […]

November 25, 2022 | In the News

‘Immediate interventions needed to lower food prices’ (Dhaka Tribune)  

The Dhaka Tribune published a review and comments from a roundtable on “Food Security for Sustainable Development” held in Bangladesh. Participants agreed that the double shocks of the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine crisis have drastically increased food prices, and immediate policy interventions are needed to keep food items affordable for people of lower income […]

October 31, 2020 | In the News

Price commission needed to ensure fair price for farmers (Daily Sun)

Daily Sun (Bangladesh) published an article on the need for an agricultural commodity price commission to ensure a stable price environment for growers and farmers. Bumper production does not always bring benefits to the growers as bumper production has pushed down wholesale prices at the grower level below the production cost in Bangladesh. Akhter Ahmed, Country Representative for IFPRI-Bangladesh said, “The government […]

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