It is important to highlight
the fact that the sampled children in this study were better nourished than the average in India
for that age group. Our results here, therefore, are likely to be lower than the effect of
subsidized school meals on classroom effort in regions with more malnourished and hungry
children. Our results also suggest that school quality influences the extent to which school
meals improve effort levels. Students in schools that had higher average scores in curriculum
related tests gained significantly more from the extension of the meal program.