By: Marie Vannetzel A CNRS fellow at the Center for Economic, Legal and Social Studies in Cairo, and visiting teacher at the University of Cairo, Faculty of Economics and Political Science. Received her PhD from Science Po Paris in 2012. Has been studying Egypt through the past 15 years, with a focus on the politics of social action and the reform of food and energy subsidies. In 2014, the Egyptian government launched a major reform of the ration card system (RCS) through which citizens access food subsidies, shifting from in-kind to cash transfers. Prior to 2014, beneficiaries could buy a set quota of three basic commodities— rice, sugar, and cooking oil—at a very low price (LE10 for about 5.5 kg of food per person). In contrast, the new RCS provides beneficiaries with smart cards credited with a monthly cash allotment of LE50 per person to purchase commodities from ration shops. In addition, the list of available commodities was diversified to include about 30 different goods, among them meat and cheese, but also soap or washing powder. In essence, the RCS’s new design aims at gradually reducing the share of food subsidies in state expenditures. As important as these changes are to beneficiaries, they are only the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, the RCS involves a wide spectrum of The Invisible Transformations of the Food Subsidy System in Egypt Social Protection Tuesday, March 10, 2020 ! SHARE " TWEET [i] JOIN THE MAILING LIST #