Finding the Benefits: Estimating the Impact of the South African Child Support Grant

Marisa Coetzee ()
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Marisa Coetzee: Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Marisa von Fintel ()

No 16/2011, Working Papers from Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics

Abstract: The paper estimates the impact of the South African Child Support Grant (CSG) on child health, nutrition and education. Data from the 2008 South African National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) are used. Two non-experimental treatment evaluation techniques, both relying on propensity scores, are applied to six different outcome variables. Using propensity score matching with a binary outcome variable, no convincing evidence of improvements on any of the outcome variables is found. A second technique is therefore also applied, using a generalised form of the propensity scores. This follows the approach of Hirano and Imbens (2004) and Agüero et al. (2009). The generalised approach estimates a positive treatment effect for children’s height-for-age and progress through the school system. Although these estimates do provide some evidence of the positive effect of the Child Support Grant on the lives of children, the estimates are small and do not provide clear evidence that the transfers received by caregivers are spent mainly on improving the well-being of beneficiary children. Some potential and plausible explanations for this result are discussed in the paper. Nevertheless, the findings seem to suggest that some of the cash transferred through the Child Support Grant appears to be spent on improving the well-being of children.

Keywords: Conditional cash transfers; child health and nutrition; continuous treatment estimator; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C21 D13 H53 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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https://www.ekon.sun.ac.za/wpapers/2011/wp162011/wp-16-2011.pdf First version, 2011 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Finding the Benefits: Estimating the Impact of The South African Child Support Grant (2013)
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