Human Welfare Lab
Our organization provides rigorous evidence about food assistance and social protection policies to help these policies improve the protection of low-income households from hunger, poverty, and nutritional risk in Nigeria and the United States.
What We Do
Policy Evaluation
Measure what works, for whom, and under what conditions using rigorous causal methods
Food Assistance Programs
Improve access, adequacy, and targeting of SNAP, WIC, school meals, and emergency food programs
Conditional Cash Transfers
Design and evaluate cash plus behavior-linked supports for vulnerable households
Food Economics & Prices
Understand shocks, affordability, market dynamics, and inflation impacts
Nutrition & Food Quality
Connect programs to diet quality, child nutrition, and health outcomes
Resilience & Climate Shocks
Build household capacity to withstand climate and conflict-related food crises
Field Research
On-ground data collection and community engagement
Policy Analysis
Evidence-based program evaluation
Community Impact
Supporting vulnerable households
Our Impact
Translating research into policy briefs, program dashboards, and decision tools
Markets in Nigeria
Understanding local food systems
U.S. Food Programs
Evaluating assistance effectiveness
Where We Work
Comparative learning across diverse contexts
Nigeria
Food price volatility, poverty targeting, delivery constraints, rural livelihoods
United States
SNAP/WIC policy, benefit adequacy, access barriers, diet quality
Student Research
Hands-on learning opportunities
Capacity Building
Training the next generation
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About the Lab
Global Perspective
Cross-country comparative research
Local Knowledge
Understanding community needs
The Human Welfare Lab is a research-to-policy lab focused on improving the effectiveness of food assistance and social protection programs for households most vulnerable to hunger and poverty. Our work sits at the intersection of food economics, nutrition, and public policy, with a commitment to generating actionable evidence for decision-makers.
We study policies and programs such as food assistance, targeted subsidies, school feeding, emergency response, and conditional cash transfers, examining their impacts on food security, diet quality, and household financial resilience. The Lab works across Nigeria and the United States, enabling comparative learning across diverse contexts—rural and urban settings, different program delivery systems, and varied market conditions.
We collaborate with government agencies, NGOs, and research partners to build evaluation strategies, strengthen monitoring systems, and translate findings into practical recommendations. Our approach combines rigorous causal methods with grounded program knowledge, ensuring our results are both credible and usable.
Our Values
Equity
Centering the needs of vulnerable populations in all our work
Rigor
Applying the highest standards of causal inference and methods
Transparency
Sharing data, code, and methods to enable reproducibility
Local Partnership
Building capacity and collaborating with on-the-ground experts
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Research Areas
Our work spans eight interconnected pillars
International Food Security & Hunger Measurement
Developing better metrics and understanding drivers of food insecurity across diverse contexts
Policy Evaluation & Causal Inference
Using DiD, RDD, IV, propensity scores, and RCT partnerships to establish program impacts
Food Assistance Programs
SNAP, WIC, school meals, emergency food distribution—access, adequacy, and outcomes
Conditional Cash Transfers & Social Protection
Design, targeting, conditionality effects, and household behavioral responses
Food Economics & Price Shocks
Inflation impacts, market access, trade policy, and household coping strategies
Food & Nutrition Outcomes
Diet quality, child nutrition, maternal health, and program-nutrition linkages
Food Quality & Safety
Contamination risk, standards enforcement, labeling, and consumer protection
Resilience & Climate/Conflict Shocks
Building household capacity to withstand and recover from environmental and political disruptions
Agricultural Systems
From farm to table research
Nutrition Science
Diet quality and health outcomes
Our Methods
We employ rigorous quantitative and qualitative approaches:
- Difference-in-Differences (DiD)
- Regression Discontinuity Design (RDD)
- Instrumental Variables (IV/TSIV)
- Propensity Score Matching
- RCT Partnerships
- Mixed Methods & Qualitative Research
Reproducibility Commitment: We share code and data when possible to enable verification and learning.
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Our Team
Dedicated researchers advancing food security and social protection
Leadership
AB
Agboola Bello
Director & Founder
Research Team
Research assistants, graduate students, and collaborators
(Team members to be added)
Collaborative Research
Working together for impact
Team Excellence
Diverse expertise and perspectives
Collaborators
Partner organizations and research institutions
(Partner network growing)
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Partner With Us
Two clear pathways to collaboration
For Governments & NGOs
We build evaluation strategies, learning agendas, and program dashboards to strengthen your evidence base and improve decision-making.
For Donors & Foundations
Fund evidence-to-action projects that translate research into practical tools and policy recommendations.
Get Involved
Student Opportunities
Research assistantships and internships available for graduate and advanced undergraduate students
Visiting Scholars
Host researchers and practitioners for collaborative research projects
Newsletter
Stay updated on our latest research, policy briefs, and events