The Experience of Conditional Cash Transfers in Latin America and the Caribbean

Sudhanshu Handa and Benjamin Davis
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Sudhanshu Handa: University of North Carolina
Benjamin Davis: Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization

No 06-07, Working Papers from Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA)

Abstract: This paper discusses the experience of six conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America, a model of social safety nets which have grown to dominate the social protection sector in the region over the last 10 years. We find that while conditional cash transfer programs have generally been successful in terms of reaching their core objective, it is still not clear whether they constitute the most cost efficient or sustainable solution to the development bottleneck they seek to adress. Further, the almost exclusive focus on human capital accumulation of children leads to missed opportunties in terms of impact on household welfare and the broader rural development context.

Keywords: Conditional cash transfer programs; Social protection; Latin America (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I38 O15 O19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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