Food and Nutrient Demand in the context of the Conditional Cash Transfer “Oportunidades” in Mexico

The conditional cash transfer program «Oportunidades» has been implemented in Mexico in order to alleviate intergenerational poverty by investing in human capital through education, health and nutrition. We estimate food and nutrient elasticities of demand with respect to income and price by the virtue of QUAIDS. We find that beneficiary households show a higher diversity of the diet; however, this diversity is not large enough to increment the sources of macro- and micronutrient intake. The value of the beneficiaries’ calorie elasticity also suggests that their need for food may not be entirely satisfied even after the reception of the monetary transfer.