Experimental long-term effects of early-childhood and school-age exposure to a conditional cash transfer program

Teresa Molina Millan (), Karen Macours, John Maluccio and Luis Tejerina

NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA

Abstract: Numerous evaluations of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs show positive short-term impacts, but there is only limited evidence on whether these benefits translate into sustained longer-term gains. This paper uses the municipal-level randomized assignment of a CCT program implemented for five years in Honduras to estimate long-term effects 13 years after the program began. We estimate intent-to-treat effects using individual-level data from the population census, which allows assignment of individuals to their municipality of birth, thereby circumventing migration selection concerns. For the non-indigenous, we find positive and robust impacts on educational outcomes for cohorts of a very wide age range. These include increases of more than 50 percent for secondary school completion rates and the probability of reaching university studies for those exposed at school-going ages. They also include substantive gains for grades attained and current enrollment for others exposed during early childhood, raising the possibility of further gains going forward. Educational gains are, however, more limited for the indigenous. Finally, exposure to the CCT increased the probability of international migration for young men, from 3 to 7 percentage points, also stronger for the non-indigenous. Both early childhood exposure to the nutrition and health components of the CCT as well as exposure during school-going ages to the educational components led to sustained increases in human capital.

Keywords: Conditional cash transfers (CCTs); early childhood; education; migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 114 pages
Date: 2019
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-exp, nep-hea and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Experimental long-term effects of early-childhood and school-age exposure to a conditional cash transfer program (2020)
Working Paper: Experimental long-term effects of early-childhood and school-age exposure to a conditional cash transfer program (2020)
Working Paper: Experimental long-term effects of early-childhood and school-age exposure to a conditional cash transfer program (2020)
Working Paper: Experimental Long-Term Effects of Early-Childhood and School-Age Exposure to a Conditional Cash Transfer Program (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:unl:novafr:wp1905

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