International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), US

Bangladesh has some social safety net programs that transfer food to the poor, some that transfer cash, and some that provide a combination of both. This study evaluates the relative impacts of food and cash transfers on food security and livelihood outcomes among the ultra poor in Bangladesh. The programs impacts are evaluated according to various measures, including how well transfers are delivered; which transfers beneficiaries prefer; how accurately the programs target the extremely poor; effects on food security, livelihoods, and women's empowerment; and cost effectiveness.

The compendium shows how the scope of research has evolved at IFPRI, as well as in the wider development community. It covers a host of topics that bear on food and nutrition security, including development strategies, markets and trade, technologies for agricultural production, natural resource management, conflicts and natural disasters, subsidies and safety nets, gender roles, and health. Research on each topic is set into context to show how thinking has progressed over time.