Children on the move: Progressive redistribution of humanitarian cash transfers among refugees

Berk Özler, Çiğdem Çelik, Scott Cunningham, P. Facundo Cuevas and Luca Parisotto

Journal of Development Economics, 2021, vol. 153, issue C

Abstract: We evaluate the impact of the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) in Turkey, the largest cash transfer program for international refugees in the world. We provide prima facie evidence that the program quickly caused substantial changes in household size and composition, with a net movement of primarily school-aged children from ineligible to eligible households. As a result, we observe a sharp decline in poverty and inequality in the entire study population. ESSN also caused a moderate increase in the diversity and frequency of food consumption among eligible households. To strike the right balance between transfer size and coverage, key parameters in the design of any cash transfer program, policymakers should consider the possibility that refugee populations may respond to their eligibility status by altering their household structure and living arrangements.

Keywords: Cash transfers; Humanitarian assistance; Refugees; Poverty; Inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I32 I38 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:153:y:2021:i:c:s030438782100105x

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102733

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