Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation of the Household Welfare Impacts of Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfers Given to Mothers or Fathers
This study conducted a randomized control trial in rural Burkina Faso to estimate the impact of alternative cash transfer delivery mechanisms on education, health, and household welfare outcomes. The two-year pilot program randomly distributed cash...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/06/26529129/evidence-randomized-evaluation-household-welfare-impacts-conditional-unconditional-cash-transfers-given-mothers-or-fathers http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24647 |
| Summary: | This study conducted a randomized
control trial in rural Burkina Faso to estimate the impact
of alternative cash transfer delivery mechanisms on
education, health, and household welfare outcomes. The
two-year pilot program randomly distributed cash transfers
that were either conditional or unconditional and were given
to either mothers or fathers. Conditionality was linked to
older children enrolling in school and attending regularly
and younger children receiving preventive health check-ups.
Compared with the control group, cash transfers improve
children's education and health and household
socioeconomic conditions. For school enrollment and most
child health outcomes, conditional cash transfers outperform
unconditional cash transfers. Giving cash to mothers does
not lead to significantly better child health or education
outcomes, and there is evidence that money given to fathers
improves young children's health, particularly during
years of poor rainfall. Cash transfers to fathers also yield
relatively more household investment in livestock, cash
crops, and improved housing. |
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