Social Capital as a Pathway to Household Food and Nutrition Security in Rwanda: Direct Effects and Underlying Mechanisms

Social Capital as a Pathway to Household Food and Nutrition Security in Rwanda: Direct Effects and Underlying Mechanisms | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Social Capital as a Pathway to Household Food and Nutrition Security in Rwanda: Direct Effects and Underlying Mechanisms Arouna Kouandou, Rawaa Laajimi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9147479/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper examines the role of social capital in shaping household food and nutrition security in Rwanda, using three waves of nationally representative surveys (2018, 2021, and 2024). We measure social capital through household membership in associations or cooperatives and leadership roles within the community. Employing OLS with fixed effects and a set of doubly robust matching estimators - Entropy Balancing, AIPW, and IPWRA -we find that households with social capital experience lower food insecurity and higher dietary quality, with particularly strong effects on food security in rural areas and nutrition security in urban areas. We also investigate the mechanisms underlying these effects. Social capital enhances households’ access to credit, participation in local agricultural interventions such as the Land Consolidation Program, investment in soil protection, extension services, and livestock ownership, particularly goats. These pathways suggest that social capital not only provides short-term protection against food insecurity but also supports long-term investments that improve resilience, dietary quality, and overall welfare. The findings highlight the context-specific importance of social capital: in rural areas, it mainly improves food security through productive investments and collective action, while in urban areas, it primarily enhances nutrition outcomes through better access to information and diversified diets. Policy interventions that strengthen community networks, cooperative membership, and local leadership can complement conventional programs to promote sustainable food and nutrition security in Rwanda. Social capital Food security Nutrition security Rural–urban heterogeneity Rwanda Household welfare Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 10 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 21 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 25 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 17 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9147479","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":627414539,"identity":"94610208-d67c-45e0-ba76-dd8b75f1e081","order_by":0,"name":"Arouna Kouandou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"UBS, IAE, LEGO, BP 573 56017 VANNES","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Arouna","middleName":"","lastName":"Kouandou","suffix":""},{"id":627414540,"identity":"6c0e0b27-3c3e-4611-aaf2-e9ab420b1626","order_by":1,"name":"Rawaa Laajimi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYPACCyA+2MCQUCEB4VcQ1iIB1XIGquUMcVqAgLGNgbAW8/Yzhh9+MEjI8zcebt3wcJ5Fnnn74QMMB/fg1iJzJsdYsodBwnDGgYNtNxK3SRTLnElLYDjwDJ+LcjdI8DBIMDZAtSTOYMgxYP5wAI8W/rebf/5hkLCfD9YyB6iF//0HhgP4tEjkbpMG2pK4AaylAahFIoeBgJb336xlDCSSN4K0JBwDaXlmcACvFv605JtvKmxs5904/uzmj5o6oMOSHz7ApwUCDECakVQR1AAB/A3EqRsFo2AUjIKRBwBLzFuN8dGWYwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rawaa","middleName":"","lastName":"Laajimi","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-17 10:23:28","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9147479/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9147479/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108006423,"identity":"cd63ed5c-eabf-4faf-a1ce-0bbe3c5434e5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-28 12:55:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":514435,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscrit.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9147479/v1_covered_712d9834-d780-4071-b968-11e707df614b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Social Capital as a Pathway to Household Food and Nutrition Security in Rwanda: Direct Effects and Underlying Mechanisms","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"review-of-economics-of-the-household","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"reho","sideBox":"Learn more about [Review of Economics of the Household](http://link.springer.com/journal/11150)","snPcode":"11150","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11150/3","title":"Review of Economics of the Household","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Social capital, Food security, Nutrition security, Rural–urban heterogeneity, Rwanda, Household welfare","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9147479/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9147479/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper examines the role of social capital in shaping household food and nutrition security in Rwanda, using three waves of nationally representative surveys (2018, 2021, and 2024). We measure social capital through household membership in associations or cooperatives and leadership roles within the community. Employing OLS with fixed effects and a set of doubly robust matching estimators - Entropy Balancing, AIPW, and IPWRA -we find that households with social capital experience lower food insecurity and higher dietary quality, with particularly strong effects on food security in rural areas and nutrition security in urban areas. We also investigate the mechanisms underlying these effects. Social capital enhances households\u0026rsquo; access to credit, participation in local agricultural interventions such as the Land Consolidation Program, investment in soil protection, extension services, and livestock ownership, particularly goats. These pathways suggest that social capital not only provides short-term protection against food insecurity but also supports long-term investments that improve resilience, dietary quality, and overall welfare. 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Policy interventions that strengthen community networks, cooperative membership, and local leadership can complement conventional programs to promote sustainable food and nutrition security in Rwanda.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Social Capital as a Pathway to Household Food and Nutrition Security in Rwanda: Direct Effects and Underlying Mechanisms","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-27 15:50:07","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9147479/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-10T12:51:36+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"155667317616347744234564826576952073476","date":"2026-04-21T14:09:23+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"239845102063967883454382786811672761602","date":"2026-04-21T12:51:20+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-19T12:40:06+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-25T11:48:45+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-03-25T11:47:59+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Review of Economics of the Household","date":"2026-03-17T10:10:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"review-of-economics-of-the-household","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"reho","sideBox":"Learn more about [Review of Economics of the Household](http://link.springer.com/journal/11150)","snPcode":"11150","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/11150/3","title":"Review of Economics of the Household","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"7f7eaeeb-958a-4c2f-8f3f-bffd618c40ec","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 27th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-10T12:51:36+00:00","index":16,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-27T15:50:07+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-27 15:50:07","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9147479","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9147479","identity":"rs-9147479","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}