Paper
This report examines why school meals, despite their broad policy appeal, are financed and governed so differently across countries. The starting point is that evidence on nutrition, education, and welfare outcomes is often not enough to explain public investment.
This report develops an empirically grounded political economy account of school meals financing and governance. It combines cross-country analysis with case studies of Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, and Somalia. The analysis asks what political gains governing coalitions obtain from investing in school meals, including electoral credit, legitimacy, patronage, social cohesion, international standing, and evidence of government effectiveness. It also asks which actors—whether national leaders, line ministries, subnational governments, or delivery actors—benefit politically. Additionally, it examines how political narratives make the value of feeding children salient to both decision-makers and the public.