Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

There has been a remarkable decline in the levels of child malnutrition and hunger across the world over the last century, and this has played an important role in reducing mortality and improving health. In recent years, however, progress has stalled. We examine whether family policies – transfers which aim to support households with children – are associated with lower food insecurity. We use an unparalleled dataset on food insecurity collected by the Gallup World Poll in 142 countries (n = 576,429) and then combine it with indicators of the type and generosity of family policies taken from UCLA’s World Policy Analysis Center. Food insecurity is, on average, 4.09 percentage points (95% CI: 3.50 to 4.68) higher in households with at least 1 child under the age of 15 compared to households with no children. In countries that have implemented either means-tested or universal family policies, the prevalence of food insecurity falls by 7.08% (95% CI: -2.67 to -11.49). However, the gains are largely concentrated in households with young children, especially those at the bottom of the income distribution. Increasing investment in family policies, which are associated with lower food insecurity among households with children, may accelerate progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 2, and in turn, improve health for all.