This study evaluates the impact of the midday meal program in India on the prevalence of child labour among upper primary school-going children. The staggered implementation of the largest school feeding program in the world across states provides exogenous variation in exposure.
Using the nationally representative National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data, the authors find that exposure to the program reduced the prevalence of child labour by 47 per cent relative to children in never-treated states, with no significant difference in impact between boys and girls.
The effects were primarily driven by a decline in household labour supply, especially the performance of household chores. These findings are further corroborated by an increase in school attendance for both genders. The study's findings are robust to a battery of sensitivity analyses and placebo tests, and shed important insights on the unintended consequences of a school feeding program.
