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Who we are

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

Ruth Meinzen-Dick

Ruth Meinzen-Dick is a Senior Research Fellow in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit. She has extensive transdisciplinary research experience in using qualitative and quantitative research methods. Her work focuses on two broad (and sometimes interrelated) areas: how institutions affect how people manage natural resources, and the role of gender in development processes. 

Where we work

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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

Director General’s Office (DGO)

Harold Alderman

Research Fellow Emeritus

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Harold

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ORCiD

Bio

Harold Alderman is a Research Fellow Emeritus in the Director General’s Office. He has gravitated toward research on the economics of nutrition and food policy. His current research focuses on the linkages between nutrition and early child development and the means by which nutrition and social protection programs contribute to long-term economic growth. Harold spent 10 years at IFPRI prior to joining the World Bank in 1991, where he divided his time between the Development Research Group and advising the Africa region on social protection policy. He rejoined IFPRI in 2012. He has both a master’s degree in Nutrition from Cornell University and a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

Publications

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Journal Article

Men can cook: Effectiveness of a men’s engagement intervention to change attitudes and behaviors in rural Ethiopia

2025Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; Tambet, Heleene
Details

Men can cook: Effectiveness of a men’s engagement intervention to change attitudes and behaviors in rural Ethiopia

Graduation model interventions seek to address multiple barriers constraining households’ exit from poverty, however, few explicitly target restrictive gender norms. Using a randomized controlled trial design, combined with three rounds of data, we investigate the impacts on gender equitable attitudes and behaviors of a graduation program that seeks to address multiple constraints for those in poverty and improve restrictive gender norms in Ethiopia. We find that at 1-year follow-up all treatment arms lead to improvements in men’s gender equitable attitudes and their engagement in household domestic tasks as reported by both men and women; but at 3-year follow-up, impacts are only sustained in the treatment arms that introduced men’s engagement groups after the 1-year follow-up survey to further promote improvements in equitable gender norms.

Year published

2025

Authors

Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; Tambet, Heleene

Citation

Alderman, Harold; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Hidrobo, Melissa; Leight, Jessica; Mulford, Michael; and Tambet, Heleene. 2024. Men can cook: Effectiveness of a men’s engagement intervention to change attitudes and behaviors in rural Ethiopia. World Development 185(January 2025): 106781.

Country/Region

Ethiopia

Keywords

Africa; Eastern Africa; Behaviour; Cooking; Men; Rural Areas

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106781 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

School meals are evolving: Has the evidence kept up?

2024Alderman, Harold; Bundy, Donald; Gelli, Aulo
Details

School meals are evolving: Has the evidence kept up?

School meal programs are popular social programs. They are provided to 61 percent of primary students in high-income countries but to a smaller share of students in less wealthy countries. There is a body of evidence documenting their contribution to education, health and nutrition, and social protection. But in each domain, program objectives have evolved: schooling is recognized to be more about learning than grades obtained; nutrition goals include healthy diets that reduce risks of non-communicable diseases and are more environmentally responsible; social protection programs aim to respond to acute crises and address chronic poverty. In addition to assisting in these sectors, school meal programs are tasked with creating food systems that assist smallholder farmers, an endeavor that has yet to be extensively studied. This review examines the latest evidence on these evolving dimensions of school meal programs. Findings suggest that while there is a strong evidence base for school meals, there are also specific gaps in the evidence of effectiveness and a particular lack of clarity around costs. The country-led School Meals Coalition, developed in response to COVID pandemic-related school closures, has brought new momentum to national programs and new urgency for reliable evidence on effectiveness and costs.

Year published

2024

Authors

Alderman, Harold; Bundy, Donald; Gelli, Aulo

Citation

Alderman, Harold; Bundy, Donald; and Gelli, Aulo. 2024. School meals are evolving: Has the evidence kept up? World Bank Research Observer 38(2): 159–176. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkad012

Keywords

Education; Health; Nutrition; School Feeding; Social Services

Language

English

Access/Licence

Limited Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkad012 Source record

Record type

Journal Article

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Abstract

Strengthening delivery platforms of national nutrition programs in subnational geographies in India improved coverage of interventions and child growth

2024Gune, Soyra; Alderman, Harold; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong; Chakrabarti, Suman
Details

Strengthening delivery platforms of national nutrition programs in subnational geographies in India improved coverage of interventions and child growth

Objectives: Between 2016 and 2020, novel system strengthening mechanisms were implemented in 63.9% (N=409) of India’s districts by the government in collaboration with multiple partners to enhance the delivery of essential nutrition interventions for women and children during the critical first 1,000 days. We evaluated the influence of these mechanisms on the coverage of interventions and child growth outcomes.

Year published

2024

Authors

Gune, Soyra; Alderman, Harold; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong; Chakrabarti, Suman

Citation

Gune, Soyra; Alderman, Harold; Avula, Rasmi; Nguyen, Phuong; and Chakrabarti, Suman. 2024. Strengthening delivery platforms of national nutrition programs in subnational geographies in India improved coverage of interventions and child growth. Current Developments in Nutrition 8 (Supplement 2): 102949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.102949

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Nutrition; Child Development; State Intervention; Maternal and Child Health

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cdnut.2024.102949 Source record

Record type

Abstract

Blogs

Get ready to be schooled! (…about IFPRI’s research on education)
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 24, 2023

Get ready to be schooled! (…about IFPRI’s research on education)

By Harold Alderman, Daniel O. Gilligan, Aulo Gelli, Naureen Karachiwalla, and Jessica Leight

Building incentives to foster more effective teaching and learning.

School feeding programs improve nutrition and child growth across generations: Evidence from India
IFPRI Blog
 | 
August 12, 2021

School feeding programs improve nutrition and child growth across generations: Evidence from India

By Suman Chakrabarti, Samuel Scott, Harold Alderman, Purnima Menon, and Daniel Gilligan

Research shows for the first time the benefits of a key type of social protection program extend years later to the children of recipients.

Ghana school lunch program linked to improved learning
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 01, 2021

Ghana school lunch program linked to improved learning

By Elisabetta Aurino, Aulo Gelli, Clement Adamba, Isaac Osei-Akoto, Harold Alderman, and Honor Dearlove

A randomized control trial shows positive results on test scores.

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Events

Deepening Social Protection Systems: Enhancing livelihoods and health in Ethiopia
IFPRI Policy Seminar

 | 

April 17, 2024, 10:30 – 12:00 pm

Deepening Social Protection Systems: Enhancing livelihoods and health in Ethiopia

Hybrid Event: April 17, 2024 at 10:30am-12:00pm EDT. This event will present findings from a randomized controlled trial of Strengthening PSNP Institutions and Resilience (SPIR), a graduation model program embedded within the PSNP that is led by World Vision, in collaboration with CARE and ORDA, and with support from the Ethiopian government and USAID.

2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting
IFPRI at External Event

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July 23 to 25, 2023

2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting

Event: July 23, 2023 – 8:30 AM to July 25, 2023 – 4:15 PM EDT. IFPRI is participating in the 2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting.

SPIR II Learning Event
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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May 16 to 17, 2023

SPIR II Learning Event

May 16 and 17, 2023 (9:00am – 5:00pm Addis Ababa): The Strengthen PSNP5 Institutions and Resilience (SPIR II) Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in Ethiopia is a five-year project (2021-2026) that supports implementation of the fifth phase of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP5) in Amhara and Oromia regions and provides additional graduation model programming through complementary gender-sensitive livelihood, nutrition, and climate resilience activities to strengthen the program and expand its impacts.

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News

September 11, 2019 | In the News

Why both poor and rich use the wrong diet (Knack Weekend)

Belgium’s Knack Weekend republished an opinion piece by Senior Researcher Fellows Derek Headey and Harold Alderman. Drawing on their recent study, the authors explained that as countries develop, their food systems get better at providing healthier foods cheaply, but they also get better at providing unhealthier foods cheaply. The authors offered Niger as a case […]

August 03, 2019 | In the News

The obstacles to a healthier life (Estado de Minas)

Brazil’s Estado de Minas reported on obstacles to healthier consumption and highlighted Senior Research Fellows Derek Headey and Harold Alderman’s relative caloric pricing research as evidence of economic barriers to better nutrition. The article quoted Headey, who emphasized that the poor often live in poor food systems, which limits access to nutrient-dense foods.

August 05, 2019 | In the News

Poor diets now a top risk factor in global disease burden–experts (Business Mirror)

The Philippines’ Business Mirror reported on Derek Headey and Harold Alderman’s study on relative caloric pricing, with a focus the data in the Philippines, including the fact that milk is 4.37 times more expensive than the country’s staple food. The article included Headey and Alderman’s recommendation that countries create more nutrition-focused policies.

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