Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs : Lessons from Latin America

Unlike most development initiatives, conditional cash transfer programs recently introduced in the Latin America and the Caribbean region have been subject to rigorous evaluations of their effectiveness. These programs provide money to poor familie...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Rawlings, Laura B., Rubio, Gloria M.
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2014
Subjects:	CASH TRANSFER SYSTEM POOR FAMILIES HUMAN CAPITAL EVALUATION OF PROJECTS CASH TRANSFERS POOR PEOPLE HEALTH ISSUES EDUCATION POVERTY ALLEVIATION MECHANISMS DATA GATHERING EVALUATION TECHNIQUES IMPLEMENTATION PLANS POLITICAL FACTORS ADOLESCENTS AGED ALTERNATIVE INTERVENTIONS AVERAGE CONSUMPTION BASIC HEALTH CARE BASIC NEEDS BENEFICIARIES BUDGET ALLOCATIONS CENSUS DATA CHILD LABOR CHILDBIRTH CHRONIC POVERTY COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS COMMUNITY RELATIONS CONSUMPTION DATA CONTROL GROUPS COUNTERFACTUAL DATA COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EMPLOYMENT EVALUATION ACTIVITIES EVALUATION DESIGN EVALUATION METHODOLOGY EVALUATION METHODS EVALUATION RESULTS EVALUATION STRATEGIES EVALUATORS EXCLUSION ERRORS EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN EXPERIMENTAL METHODS EXTERNALITIES EXTREME POVERTY FAMILIES FLEXIBILITY FOOD CONSUMPTION FOOD EXPENDITURES GEOGRAPHIC TARGETING GIRLS GROUP DISCUSSIONS HEADCOUNT RATIO HEALTH CARE HEALTH CENTER HEALTH CENTERS HEALTH INDICATORS HEALTH SERVICES HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURES HOUSEHOLD LEVEL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HUMAN DEVELOPMENT HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SECTOR UNIT IMMUNIZATION IMPACT EVALUATION IMPACT INDICATORS INCOME INCOME COUNTRIES INCOME GENERATION INCREASED DEMAND INFANT MORTALITY INFANTS INTERVENTION INTERVENTIONS KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEWS LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LABOR MARKET MALNUTRITION MATCHING METHODS MEAN INCOME MEASURING CHANGES MEDIA MEDICINES MIGRATION MONITORING VISITS MORTALITY MOTHERS NATIONAL SCALE NGO NUTRITION NUTRITION EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY COSTS OUTCOME INDICATORS PARTICIPATION RATES POLICY RESEARCH POLITICAL CONTEXT POOR AREAS POOR HOUSEHOLDS POPULATION GROUPS POVERTY ALLEVIATION POVERTY GAP POVERTY HEADCOUNT POVERTY INCIDENCE POVERTY LEVELS POVERTY LINE POVERTY REDUCTION POVERTY REDUCTION PROGRAMS POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES POVERTY STATUS POVERTY TARGETING PREGNANCY PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE PRIMARY SCHOOL PRIVATE TRANSFERS PROBABILITY PROCESS EVALUATION PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES PROGRAM EVALUATION PROGRAM EXPANSION PROGRAM IMPACTS PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM OUTCOMES PROGRAMS PROPENSITY SCORE MATCHING QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE QUESTIONNAIRES RANDOMIZED CONTROL DESIGN RELATIVE IMPORTANCE REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS RESOURCE ALLOCATIONS RURAL AREAS SAFETY SAFETY NET SAMPLING FRAME SCHOOLS SEASONAL EFFECTS SERVICE QUALITY SOCIAL ASSISTANCE SOCIAL EXPERIMENTS SOCIAL PROGRAMS SOCIAL PROTECTION SOCIAL PROTECTION PROGRAMS SOCIAL SERVICES SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE TARGETING TRAINING PROGRAMS TREATMENT GROUPS URBAN AREAS VACCINATION ADOLESCENTS POLITICAL FACTORS
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2003/08/2511635/evaluating-impact-conditional-cash-transfer-programs-lessons-latin-america http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18119

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Summary:	Unlike most development initiatives, conditional cash transfer programs recently introduced in the Latin America and the Caribbean region have been subject to rigorous evaluations of their effectiveness. These programs provide money to poor families, conditional on certain behavior, usually investments in human capital-such as sending children to school or bringing them to health centers on a regular basis. Rawlings and Rubio review the experience in evaluating the impact of these programs, exploring the application of experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation methods and summarizing results from programs launched in Brazil, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Evaluation results from the first generation of programs in Brazil, Mexico, and Nicaragua show that conditional cash transfer programs are effective in promoting human capital accumulation among poor households. There is clear evidence of success in increasing enrollment rates, improving preventive health care, and raising household consumption. Despite this promising evidence, many questions remain unanswered about the impact of conditional cash transfer programs, including those concerning their effectiveness under different country conditions and the sustainability of the welfare impacts.

Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs : Lessons from Latin America

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