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Who we are

With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

researcher spotlight

Lina Alaaeldin Abdelfattah

Lina Alaaeldin Abdelfattah is a Senior Research Associate in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit, based in Cairo. Her research interests include applied economic development, trade, and spatial economics, with a focus on topics relevant to social protection, food, nutrition, and agriculture in the Middle East and Africa. 

Where we work

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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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experts

Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion

Melissa Hidrobo

Senior Research Fellow

Bio

Melissa Hidrobo is a Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit. She is an applied microeconomist working at the intersection of gender, rural livelihoods, poverty reduction, and social protection. Her gender research focuses on how different interventions affect intrahousehold dynamics and how intrahousehold dynamics affect agricultural production. Her recent research involves impact evaluations of nutrition-sensitive agricultural programs, social protection and economic inclusion programs, and edutainment to change gender norms in Mali, Ghana, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Senegal. Melissa holds a PhD in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Language: English (fluent), Spanish (fluent), French (proficient)

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RePEc Author Profile

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Publications

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Journal Article

Making complementary agricultural resources, technologies, and services more gender-responsive

2024Hidrobo, Melissa; Kosec, Katrina; Gartaula, Hom N.; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Carrillo, Lucia
Details

Making complementary agricultural resources, technologies, and services more gender-responsive

Rural women in low- and middle-income countries face multiple constraints in accessing and benefiting from essential complementary resources, technologies, and services for agricultural production and participation in the agrifood system. This paper highlights recent thinking around these constraints and how to overcome them. The complementary factors we consider are: (1) networks and social capital, (2) information and communications technologies, (3) other agricultural tech nologies, (4) agricultural extension and advisory services, (5) financial services, and (6) social assistance. We first analyze constraints women face in accessing and benefiting from these complementary factors and describe the potential benefits of reducing these constraints and gender inequities in the agrifood system. We then provide evidence on what has been effective for improving women’s access to and ability to benefit from the six complementary factors. We conclude by highlighting the importance of considering the different preferences of men and women when designing policies and interventions; challenging customs, norms and perceptions; and reforming formal rules and institutions toward more inclusive agrifood systems.

Year published

2024

Authors

Hidrobo, Melissa; Kosec, Katrina; Gartaula, Hom N.; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; Carrillo, Lucia

Citation

Hidrobo, Melissa; Kosec, Katrina; Gartaula, Hom N.; Van Campenhout, Bjorn; and Carrillo, Lucia. 2024. Making complementary agricultural resources, technologies, and services more gender-responsive. Global Food Security 42: 100778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2024.100778

Keywords

Women; Gender; Rural Areas; Agricultural Production; Agrifood Systems; Networks; Information and Communication Technologies; Agricultural Extension; Financial Inclusion

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2024.100778 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Journal Article

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Journal Article

Educational impacts of an unconditional cash transfer program in Mali

2024Sessou, Fidele Eric; Hidrobo, Melissa; Roy, Shalini; Huybregts, Lieven
Details

Educational impacts of an unconditional cash transfer program in Mali

In rural West Africa, the rate of out-of-school children is high and delayed entry to primary school is common, particularly for girls. Using the randomized roll-out of a large-scale unconditional cash transfer program in Mali, we examine its impact on child schooling by age and sex. The program leads to significant improvements in schooling outcomes for girls, but not boys. Improvements are especially salient among younger (ages 6–9) and older (ages 15–18) girls. Complementary analysis reveals that the program reduces the time younger girls spend in agricultural work at home and the time older girls spend in domestic work as well as self-employment. Households in the program also spend more on education for older girls in terms of school fees, materials, and transport.

Year published

2024

Authors

Sessou, Fidele Eric; Hidrobo, Melissa; Roy, Shalini; Huybregts, Lieven

Citation

Sessou, Fidele Eric; Hidrobo, Melissa; Roy, Shalini; and Huybregts, Lieven. 2024. Educational impacts of an unconditional cash transfer program in Mali. Economics of Education Review 101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102547

Country/Region

Mali

Keywords

Western Africa; Africa; Children; Schools; Education; Girls Education; Gender; Cash Transfers; Labour

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2024.102547 Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Journal Article

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Working Paper

Social protection and gender: policy, practice and research

2024Hidrobo, Melissa; Peterman, Amber; Kumar, Neha; Lambon-Quayefio, Monica; Roy, Shalini; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Paz, Flor
Details

Social protection and gender: policy, practice and research

Gender considerations in the design and delivery of social protection programs are critical to meet overall objectives of reducing poverty and vulnerability. We provide an overview of the policy discourse and research on social protection and gender in low- and middle-income countries, focusing on social assistance, social care, and social insurance. Taking a ‘review of reviews’ approach, we aggregate findings from rigorous evaluations on women’s health, economic, empowerment, and violence impacts. We show there is robust evidence that social assistance has beneficial effects across all four domains. In addition, there is emerging evidence that social care has positive impacts on women’s economic outcomes, but scarce evidence of its impacts on other domains. Aggregated evidence on the impacts of social insurance are lacking. Key design elements facilitating positive impacts for women relate to gender targeting; quality complementary programming; replacing conditionalities with soft nudges; ensuring the value, frequency, and duration of benefits are sufficient; and gender-sensitive operational components. We close with a discussion of evidence gaps and priorities for future research.

Year published

2024

Authors

Hidrobo, Melissa; Peterman, Amber; Kumar, Neha; Lambon-Quayefio, Monica; Roy, Shalini; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Paz, Flor

Citation

Hidrobo, Melissa; Peterman, Amber; Kumar, Neha; Lambon-Quayefio, Monica; Roy, Shalini; Gilligan, Daniel O.; and Paz, Flor. 2024. Social protection and gender: policy, practice and research. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2257. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute. https://hdl.handle.net/10568/144240

Keywords

Gender; Poverty; Social Protection; Vulnerability; Women’s Empowerment

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

Gender Equality

Record type

Working Paper

Events

Deepening Social Protection Systems: Enhancing livelihoods and health in Ethiopia
IFPRI Policy Seminar

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April 17, 2024, 10:30 – 12:00 pm

Deepening Social Protection Systems: Enhancing livelihoods and health in Ethiopia

Hybrid Event: April 17, 2024 at 10:30am-12:00pm EDT. This event will present findings from a randomized controlled trial of Strengthening PSNP Institutions and Resilience (SPIR), a graduation model program embedded within the PSNP that is led by World Vision, in collaboration with CARE and ORDA, and with support from the Ethiopian government and USAID.

SPIR II Learning Event
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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May 16 to 17, 2023

SPIR II Learning Event

May 16 and 17, 2023 (9:00am – 5:00pm Addis Ababa): The Strengthen PSNP5 Institutions and Resilience (SPIR II) Resilience Food Security Activity (RFSA) in Ethiopia is a five-year project (2021-2026) that supports implementation of the fifth phase of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP5) in Amhara and Oromia regions and provides additional graduation model programming through complementary gender-sensitive livelihood, nutrition, and climate resilience activities to strengthen the program and expand its impacts.

Integrated Cash Transfer Programs in West Africa: How to make cash transfer programs more nutrition sensitive?
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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February 13, 2020, 2:30 – 5:30 pm

Integrated Cash Transfer Programs in West Africa: How to make cash transfer programs more nutrition sensitive?

IFPRI West and Central Africa Office and the Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division (PHND) will be hosting a policy seminar on Integrated Cash Transfer Programs in West Africa to provide evidence on the impacts of integrated programs implemented in West Africa and discuss program design and policy options to make them more nutrition-sensitive. The use […]

News

October 22, 2019 | In the News

Cash transfers and intimate partner violence (Agrilinks)

Agrilinks reported on an IFPRI study. The authors identify three policy-relevant knowledge gaps related to the potential of transfer programs to reduce intimate partner violence, drawing on case studies from Bangladesh, Ecuador, and Mali.

February 08, 2019 | In the News

Opinion: Measuring the unintended benefits of a development program (Devex)

Devex published an op-ed by Akhter Ahmed, Melissa Hidrobo, and Shalini Roy about the additional impact development programs may have on wellbeing.  Evaluating the Transfer Modality Research initiative in Bangladesh, research showed that cash transfers and behavior change communications can reduce intimate partner violence and lead to improved nutrition knowledge. 

November 12, 2018 | In the News

How a $50-a-year nutrition program cut domestic violence in Bangladesh (Vox)

Vox published a news editorial about the ability of cash transfer initiatives to reduce rates of intimate partner violence. The article included the recent research of IFPRI research fellows Shalini Roy, Melissa Hidrobo, and Akhter Ahmed because their findings are different from past research, where they examine intimate partner violence using cash transfer programs and […]