Toward understanding the value of intra-household survey data for age- based food targeting

Through the use of a stylized, age-based eligibility feeding programme, we attempt to quantify the benefit of having individual- (as opposed to household-) level food intake data when it comes to targeting food transfers on the basis of age. In this context we show how optimum age eligibility cut-offs depend on the availability of intra-household data on food intake. Second, we provide quantitative estimates of the valeue of intra-household information and of knowledge of the process of intra-household allocation of calvies. Age proved to be a good indicator of individual calorie deficit. However, this was not the case with household-level calorie adequacy, which rendered age apparently less useful as a targeting instrument, often at considerable calorie cost. Food sharing within the household, on the other hand, rendered age impotent as a targeting instrument because of within-household leakage. If age is to be used as an effective eligibility criterion for a food transfer, the implementation of that transfer has to ensure minimum leakage to other household members. This type of exploratory analysis is one step toward quantifying the usefulness of intra-household data in the design of nutrition interventions. The costs of collecting intra-household data may outweigh the benefits, but the experiments presensed begin to answer questions about the costs of not collecting them.