An Alternative Method of Impact Evaluation: An Application for the School Meal Programme in Primary Education in Rural India.

This article focuses on an alternative method for impact evaluation of development programmes with universal coverage but intermittent provision of benefits, demonstrated through the Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programme in rural India. Traditional impact evaluations face challenges in forming suitable comparison groups when programmes cover entire populations, often leading to biased estimates. The proposed method compares outcomes within the treatment group at multiple time points when benefits are present or absent, using breaks in meal provision to estimate the programme's effect on primary school children's daily attendance. Applying this method to data from West Bengal, the study finds that the MDM programme positively influenced attendance, especially among girls and students from disadvantaged castes, while noting that the method may underestimate the true impact and is applicable only when benefit provision is irregular.