Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/179540 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
GLO Discussion Paper No. 203
Publisher: 
Global Labor Organization (GLO), Maastricht
Abstract: 
We present experimental evidence on the impact of delivering double-fortified salt (DFS), salt fortified with iron and iodine, through the Indian school-feeding program called “mid-day meal” on anemia, cognition, and math and reading scores of primary school children. We conducted a field experiment that randomly provided a one-year supply of DFS at a subsidized price to public primary schools to prepare mid-day meal in one of the poorest regions of India. The DFS treatment had significantly positive impacts on hemoglobin levels and reduced the prevalence of anemia by 20 percent but these health gains did not translate into statistically significant impacts on cognition and test scores. While exploring the heterogeneity in effects, we find that treatment had statistically significant gains in anemia and test scores among children with higher treatment compliance. We further estimate that the intervention was very cost effective and can potentially be scaled up without much financial burden.
Subjects: 
Double-fortified salt
education
anemia
cognition
school-children
mid-day meal
India
randomized controlled trial
JEL: 
C93
D04
I15
I18
I38
O11
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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