Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0 Author-Name: Klaus Abbink Author-Name-First: Klaus Author-Name-Last: Abbink Author-Email: Author-Workplace-Name: Monash University Author-Name: Gaurav Datt Author-Name-First: Gaurav Author-Name-Last: Datt Author-Email: Author-Workplace-Name: Monash University Author-Name: Lata Gangadharan Author-Name-First: Lata Author-Name-Last: Gangadharan Author-Email: lata.gangadharan@monash.edu Author-Workplace-Name: Monash University Author-Name: Digvijay Negi Author-Name-First: Digvijay Author-Name-Last: Negi Author-Email: Author-Workplace-Name: Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research Author-Name: Bharat Ramaswami Author-Name-First: Bharat Author-Name-Last: Ramaswami Author-Email: bharat.ramaswami@ashoka.edu.in Author-Workplace-Name: Ashoka University Title: Deadweight Losses or Gains from In-kind Transfers: Experimental Evidence Abstract: Are in-kind transfers associated with deadweight losses? To answer this question, we conducted an incentivized field experiment in India and offered low-income respondents the choice between a free quantity of rice and varying amounts of cash to elicit their willingness to pay for rice. Contrary to expectation, we find evidence of deadweight gain on average, though with a striking contrast between a deadweight loss among women from female-headed households and a deadweight gain among women from male-headed households. After investigating alternative mechanisms, our results highlight that greater bargaining power of women within households increases the propensity to choose cash over rice. length: 48 Creation-Date: 20240331 Revision-Date: Publication-Status: File-URL:https://dp.ashoka.edu.in/ash/wpaper/paper110_0.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf Number: 110 Keywords: cash transfer Keywords: deadweight loss Keywords: field experiment Keywords: food subsidy Keywords: in-kind transfer Handle: RePEc:ash:wpaper:110