Record Details

Targeting hunger or votes? The political economy of humanitarian transfers in Malawi

CGSpace

View Archive Info
 
 
Field Value
 
Title Targeting hunger or votes? The political economy of humanitarian transfers in Malawi
 
Creator Duchoslav, Jan
Kenamu, Edwin
Thunde, Jack
 
Subject hunger
cash transfers
political systems
disaster relief
 
Description Do electoral considerations play a role in the targeting of humanitarian transfers? We analyze the targeting of direct cash and food transfers distributed in Malawi in response to an exceptionally poor harvest following a late and erratic rainy season of 2015-16. Combining household survey data on transfers with a remotely sensed measure of drought and with the results of the 2014 and 2019 parliamentary elections, we show that transfers were disproportionately targeted at marginal constituencies. Rather than distributing the transfers based solely on need or mobilizing its tribal base, the government attempted to persuade swing voters to support its candidates in the next elections. We found no evidence that this strategy was successful at increasing the vote of ruling party candidates in subsequent elections.
 
Date 2022-10-06
2022-11-03T07:09:16Z
2022-11-03T07:09:16Z
 
Type Working Paper
 
Identifier Duchoslav, Jan; Kenamu, Edwin; and Thunde, Jack. 2022. Targeting hunger or votes? The political economy of humanitarian transfers in Malawi. MaSSP Working Paper 39. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136401
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/125315
http://books.google.com/books/about?id=yNCTEAAAQBAJ
https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=yNCTEAAAQBAJ
https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136401
 
Language en
 
Rights Other
Open Access
 
Format application/pdf
 
Publisher International Food Policy Research Institute