Can Unconditional In-Kind Transfers Keep Children Out of Work and in School? Evidence from Indonesia

Danusha Jayawardana (), Baryshnikova Nadezhda V. and Pham Ngoc Thien Anh
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Baryshnikova Nadezhda V.: School of Economics, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
Pham Ngoc Thien Anh: School of Architecture and Built Environment, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2021, vol. 21, issue 3, 1035-1065

Abstract: Child labour is a global issue which creates a need for evidence-based interventions such as cash and in-kind transfers. However, there is limited evidence about the effect of in-kind transfers on child labour, impeding policy development. We address this gap by examining the impacts of an unconditional in-kind transfer, a nation-wide subsidised rice program, on child labour and schooling using longitudinal household survey data from Indonesia. To identify the causal effect, we use coarsened exact matching with difference-in-differences estimator. The results indicate that the program is effective in decreasing the probability of working for boys though it does not have a significant impact on the probability of schooling. However, as an unconditional in-kind transfer, its ability to decrease child work for boys, especially of those who are both working and attending school, provides an important policy implication on how a food subsidy program can indirectly influence child wellbeing.

Keywords: child labour; schooling; food subsidy; raskin; Indonesia; coarsened exact matching (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I38 J82 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: Can unconditional in-kind transfers keep children out of work and in school? Evidence from Indonesia (2019)
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DOI: 10.1515/bejeap-2020-0442

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