Do Food Price Subsidies Increase Nutritional Intake of Indonesian Households?

Indonesia's economy has developed rapidly, but it has not solved under nourishment issues among low-income people. Therefore, similar toother developing countries, Indonesia has instituted a food price subsidy program known as Rice for the Poor (RASKIN) to help low-income families meet their needs and alleviate some of their financial burdens. This study examined how RASKIN affected the intake of calories and three macro nutrients of Indonesian households using the representative National Socioeconomic Survey (SUSENAS) data. In comparison to intakewithoutthe subsidy, the estimation results based on the endogenous switching regression model suggested that receiving the subsidy raised the household calorie intake by 368.4 Kcal/day for recipients and 454.6 Kcal/day for nonr ecipients. Likewise, house holdsreceiving the subsidy raised their macro nutrient intake, encompassing protein, carbohydrate, and fat, compared to those not receiving it. Therefore, RASKIN contributed to raising the intake of calories and three macronutrients. However, a certain portion of non-poor households were found to receive RASKIN owing to mistargeting, suggesting that the government should rectify targeting errors to enhance the effectiveness of the subsidy and attain the key purpose of improving the well-being of people with low incomes.