American Economic Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
Cumulative Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: Experimental Evidence from Indonesia
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 12,
no. 4, November 2020
(pp. 88–110)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Conditional cash transfers provide income and promote human capital investments. Yet evaluating their longitudinal impacts is hard, as most experimental evaluations treat control locations after a few years. We examine such impacts in Indonesia after six years, where the program rollout left the experiment largely intact. We find static effects on many targeted indicators: childbirth using trained professionals increased dramatically, and under-15 children not in school fell by half. We observe impacts requiring cumulative investments: stunting fell by 23 percent. While human capital accumulation increased, the transfers did not lead to transformative economic change for recipient households.Citation
Cahyadi, Nur, Rema Hanna, Benjamin A. Olken, Rizal Adi Prima, Elan Satriawan, and Ekki Syamsulhakim. 2020. "Cumulative Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: Experimental Evidence from Indonesia." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 12 (4): 88–110. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20190245Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
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