Improving Infant Nutrition Through the Market: Experimental Evidence from Ghana

Free distribution of nutritious foods is an effective way to improve child nutrition. However, it is an open question whether such effects would be observed if they were marketed. This is because some parents will not buy them if they are allowed to make a decision. To answer this question, we conducted experimental sales of a new complementary food product, Koko Plus, through health centres as a pseudo-market environment. We found that the experimental sales significantly increased children’s weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ). However, the effect was heterogeneous: it was smaller among children whose baseline WAZ was lower. We investigated the mechanisms underlying this heterogeneity and found that it was associated with access to safe drinking water. If mothers gave their children safe drinking water, the sale of the product significantly increased their WAZ regardless of their baseline nutrition status. The results imply that good hygiene will play an important role in the success of the market-based approach to the improvement of child nutrition.