Cash Transfers and Child Schooling: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation of the Role of Conditionality

Richard Akresh (), Damien de Walque and Harounan Kazianga

No 1301, Economics Working Paper Series from Oklahoma State University, Department of Economics and Legal Studies in Business

Abstract: We conduct a randomized experiment in rural Burkina Faso to estimate the impact of alternative cash transfer delivery mechanisms on education. The two-year pilot program randomly distributed cash transfers that were either conditional (CCT) or unconditional (UCT). Families under the CCT schemes were required to have their children ages 7-15 enrolled in school and attend classes regularly. There were no such requirements under the unconditional programs. Results indicate that UCTs and CCTs have a similar impact increasing the enrollment of children who are traditionally favored by parents for school participation, including boys, older children, and higher ability children. However, CCTs are significantly more effective than UCTs in improving the enrollment of "marginal children" who are initially less likely to go to school, such as girls, younger children, and lower ability children. Thus, conditionality plays a critical role in benefiting children who are less likely to receive investments from their parents.

Keywords: Cash transfers; Conditionality; Education; Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 I21 I25 I38 J13 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 55 pages
Date: 2013-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-dem, nep-dev, nep-edu, nep-exp and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (80)

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Working Paper: Cash transfers and child schooling: evidence from a randomized evaluation of the role of conditionality (2013)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:okl:wpaper:1301

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