Food for Education (FFE) provides monthly rations of grain to poor kids attending primary school
in rural Bangladesh. The program is massive. In 1998, it accounts for a large share of the primary
education budget and serves more than 2 million kids. Concerns have been raised about its value. To
assess this value, the gains from education and their trend over time are estimated using five surveys
spanning the years 1983 to 1996. When combining these gains with estimates of the impact of FFE on
school attendance and the program’s cost, FFE is found to be cost effective. However, the program could
be improved through better targeting of the (very) poor and/or through more efficient primary schools.