Medium Term Educational Consequences of Alternative Conditional Cash Transfer Designs: Experimental Evidence from Colombia

Abstract

We show that three Colombian conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs for secondary school improve educational outcomes after eight years, depending on the stipend structure. Forcing families to save a portion of the transfers until they make enrollment decisions for the next year increases on-time enrollment in secondary school, reduces dropout rates, and promotes tertiary enrollment. Traditional stipends improve on-time enrollment and high school exit exam completion rates. These differences between stipends are statistically significant due to the effects on older students. Finally, a stipend that directly incentivizes tertiary enrollment promotes on-time enrollment in secondary school and in lower quality tertiary institutions.