Impact of farm level corruption on the food security of households in Bangladesh

In this article, we have analyzed the impact of farm level corruption on households’ food security using survey data collected from 210 Bangladeshi rice farmers. Econometric results confirm that the cost of corruption adversely affects households’ calorie consumption. The marginal effect of corruption is higher for the low expenditure households relative to the high expenditure households. This happens because the high expenditure households exhibit more flexibility in terms of adjusting their budgets and hence, are able to cover the cost of corruption without affecting their food consumption, whereas for the low expenditure households such flexibility is limited and hence are forced to compromise on their food budget. Variables such as the better education of women and land holding also positively contribute to food security.