Vulnerabilidad Económica Ante la Contingencia por COVID-19 en la Zona Maya de Quintana Roo, México

Cash Transfers and Gender Differentials in Child Schooling and Labor: Evidence from the Lesotho Child Grants Programme

This paper uses experimental panel data for Mexico from 1997 to 2000 in order to test assumptions on the impact of a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program on child labor and school attendance, adding to the literature by emphasizing the differential impact on indigenous households. Using data from the CCT program, PROGRESA (later on known as OPORTUNIDADES), we investigate the interaction between child labor, education and indigenous households. While indigenous children had a greater probability of working before the intervention, this probability is reversed after treatment in the program. Indigenous monolingual children also had lower school attainment compared with Spanish-speaking or indigenous bilingual children. After the program, school attainment among indigenous children increased, reducing the gap. In terms of child labor, the larger reduction is in the group of bilingual children.

We investigated (1) how household wealth affected the relationship between conditional cash transfers (CCT) and unconditional cash transfers (UCT) and school attendance, (2) whether CCT and UCT affected educational outcomes (repeating a year of school), (3) if baseline school attendance and transfer conditions affected how much of the transfers participants spent on education and (4) if CCT or UCT reduced child labour in recipient households. Data were analysed from a cluster-randomized controlled trial of CCT and UCT in 4043 households from 2009 to 2010. Recipient households received $18 dollars per month plus $4 per child. CCT were conditioned on above 80% school attendance, a full vaccination record and a birth certificate. In the poorest quintile, the odds ratio of above 80% school attendance at follow-up for those with below 80% school attendance at baseline was 1.06 (p = .67) for UCT vs. CCT. UCT recipients reported spending slightly more (46.1% (45.4–46.7)) of the transfer on school expenses than did CCT recipients (44.8% (44.1–45.5)). Amongst those with baseline school attendance of below 80%, there was no statistically significant difference between CCT and UCT participants in the proportion of the transfer spent on school expenses (p = .63). Amongst those with above 80% baseline school attendance, CCT participants spent 3.5% less (p = .001) on school expenses than UCT participants. UCT participants were no less likely than those in the control group to repeat a grade of school. CCT participants had .69 (.60–.79) lower odds vs. control of repeating the previous school grade. Children in CCT recipient households spent an average of .31 fewer hours in paid work than those in the control group (p < .001) and children in the UCT arm spent an average of .15 fewer hours in paid work each week than those in the control arm (p = .06).

This study investigated the effects of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme on the livelihoods and well-being of community members in Kaugama Local Government Area (LGA) of Jigawa State, Nigeria. Conditional Cash Transfer programmes have gained prominence as a poverty alleviation strategy for low-income countries. The research employed a narrative method with qualitative assessments. The study adopted both primary and secondary methods of data collection through the means of survey and documentary methods of data collection. The primary data analysed in this study was collected using a structured interview, while the secondary data was collected from the documented records of the National Cash Transfer Office (NCTO). Tables, percentages, and content analysis methods were used to analyse the data. This study utilised Social Capital Theory to advance credible arguments for the discourse. From the findings made, it was concluded that the Conditional Cash Transfer programme has improved the food consumption of beneficiaries, enhanced access to health facilities for beneficiaries and enabled them to enrol more of their children in schools. One of the recommendations was that, based on the promising outcomes in the Kaugama Local Government Area, more funding should be provided for the Conditional Cash Transfer programme to upscale it to cover more beneficiaries in Jigawa State. This could have a wider-reaching positive impact on food security, healthcare access, and education in the state in particular and the nation at large.

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are a recent anti-poverty strategy in Latin America. CCT programs provide cash benefits to finance basic needs and foster investment in human capital to extremely poor households. These benefits are conditioned on certain behaviors, usually related to investments in nutrition, health, and education. In the literature, there is a recognizable lack of analyses from social science disciplines related to CCT program implications. This paper contributes in this arena by analyzing the particular role of social work in CCT anti-poverty programs. The educational element of these programs and its theoretical foundation based on the human capital model, the debate around issues of conditionality and targeting, the possible role of CCT programs in a broader reform of social protection systems, and professional practice implications using the Chilean CCT program as a model will be addressed.

ObjectiveAntenatal care (ANC) is crucial to protecting the health of pregnant women and their unborn children; however, the uptake of ANC among pregnant women in low and middle-income countries (LMICs)...

In the last few decades, conditional cash transfer (CCT) programmes have become very popular for addressing different development challenges. The use of CCT programmes to promote enrolment in schools, improve preventive health care and increase household consumption in Latin America has been well documented. However, the potential of CCT programmes to change more deep-rooted norms is not very clear. The Shubh Laxmi scheme, a CCT programme, was started by the Government of Rajasthan, India, to improve the status of health and education among girls. A study was undertaken to understand the changes in beneficiaries’ perspectives due to scheme. A total of 95 beneficiaries were randomly selected and in-depth interviews were conducted in order to understand the impact of the scheme. In addition, two focus group discussions were conducted with 30 non-beneficiaries in order to understand their awareness about the scheme and their perceptions of girls. The findings show that the CCT programme has helped in generating a positive attitude among beneficiaries towards the survival, education and well-being of girls. The key challenge was low awareness of the scheme and of the procedures for claiming its benefits. This study highlights that CCT programmes are useful for nudging people to address gender-based inequalities in health and education among children; however, effective implementation remains key.

The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) is a conditional social cash transfer program that provides assistance to Very Poor Households (RTSM) appointed as participants in the Conditional Cash Transfer program which is related to improving the quality of human life through education and health. This study aims to analyze the impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on ex-families who receive of Conditional Cash Transfers who go out independently in Pagelaran District with indicators of changes in economic conditions, changes in health quality, and changes in the quality of education. In evaluating the impact of this program, the researcher used the impact evaluation theory using The Most Significant Change technique (MSC) which is a participatory monitoring and evaluation technique that aims to obtain information about the most important changes in family life resulting from participation in poverty programs. The results of this study indicate that the Conditional Cash Transfer in Pagelaran District has a changing impact on the Former Beneficiary Family both positive and negative. Seen from the positive impact, the Former Beneficiary Family have experienced changes for the better, especially in the fields of economy and education. However, there has been change in the health sector because the informant of the Former Beneficiary Family in Pagelaran District was the recipient of assistance in the education sector. However, the negative side is the lack of compliance of former recipient families when they become participants in education.

Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) programmes are deemed to be effective measures at reducing poverty and income inequality in many developing countries. Another possible important consequence is its effect on criminal behaviour. This paper analyses a panel data set on crime rates and the Brazilian Bolsa Familia, the largest CCT programme in the world, in order to investigate these relationships and estimate the effect of these policies on crime rates. The related existing economic literature analysing general welfare programmes generally ignores the crucial endogeneity involved in the relationship between crime rates and social welfare policies, through poverty. Temporal heterogeneity in the implementation of the programme across the states is used to identify the causal impact of CCT programmes on poverty and criminality. States that reached the level of cash transfers expenditures proposed by the guidelines of the programme more promptly had a more significant reduction in poverty rates. Similar, but less robust results are found for crime rates as robbery, theft and kidnapping, while no significant effects were found for homicide and murder, indicating that property crime would be more sensitive to CCT programmes.

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are quickly replacing old welfare programs because they help the poorest members of society both on the short and long terms. On the short term, the extra discretionary income provided by these programs help participant families meet their pressing basic needs. On the long term, these cash transfers are conditional on participants engaging in health and education-related activities that directly benefit their children, as an attempt to extract the new generation from the vicious circle of poverty. The impact of CCT programs on their main goals (health, education, and nutrition) has already been widely tested and documented. The main purpose of our current study is to assess the impact of a fully implemented program (Bolsa Familia in Brazil) on consumption behavior. This is important for several reasons. First, CCT programs represent a substantial boost in participants’ discretionary income, all funneled into consumption, resulting into a substantial additional demand for certain product categories. Second, critics of CCT programs claim that most of this discretionary income is squandered in superfluous consumption, pushing these poor households into new unsustainable lifestyle. Third, most tests of the impact of CCT programs are based on controlled experiments conducted either before or at the beginning of the program’s full implementation. In contrast, our assessment is done after Bolsa Familia has been fully implemented, which required us to design a natural experiment combining propensity scoring with econometric modeling. Based on this natural experiment, we are able to quantify the effect of Bolsa Familia on its participants and also the incremental demand for various product categories generated by this CCT program. Contrary to what detractors of the program claim, we find that most of the extra cash is devoted to essential goods (food, clothing, etc.) rather than superfluous consumption.

We examined effects on child development of a group-based parenting support program (Educación Inicial - EI) when combined with Mexico's conditional cash transfer (CCT) program (Prospera, originally Oportunidades and Progresa). This cluster-randomized trial included 204 communities (n = 1,113 children in final sample), stratified by community indigenous status, and assigned to receive either: (T0) CCT only; (T1) CCT plus availability of EI in the community; or (T2) T1 plus promotion of the EI program by the CCT program. Interviews were conducted with the mother or primary caregiver of each child at baseline (2008, children 0-18 months old), and at follow-up (2012, children 3-5 years old); the intervention began after baseline and continued for all eligible households. Cognitive development was assessed with the Extended Ages and Stages Questionnaire (baseline) and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Development (follow-up); assessors were blinded to treatment. All analyses were intention to treat. There were significant effects on child development when EI received support and promotion from the CCT program (T₂ vs. T₀: General Cognitive Index, β = 3.90; 95% CI [0.51, 7.30], Verbal Score, β = 4.28; 95% CI [0.51, 8.05], and Memory Score, β = 4.14; 95% CI [0.62, 7.66]), effects equivalent to 0.26-0.29 SD. There were no significant benefits when the programs operated independently (T₁ vs. T₀). In stratified analyses, EI showed significant effects in indigenous communities only. We found consistent results in regressions controlling for covariates, with some reductions in magnitude of differences. Our findings suggest that group-based, parenting support programs can improve child outcomes within the context of a CCT, but only when the 2 programs are integrated and mutually supportive. (PsycINFO Database Record

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs are quickly replacing old welfare programs because they help the poorest members of society both on the short and long-term. On the short term, the extra discretionary income provided by these programs help participant families meet their pressing basic needs. On the long term, these cash transfers are conditional on participants engaging in health and education-related activities that directly benefit their children, as an attempt to extract the new generation from the vicious circle of poverty.The impact of CCT programs on their main goals (health, education and nutrition) has already been widely tested and documented. The main purpose of our current study is to assess the impact of a fully implemented program (Bolsa-Familia in Brazil) on consumption behavior. This is important for several reasons. First, CCT programs represent a substantial boost in participants' discretionary income, all funneled into consumption, resulting into a substantial additional demand for certain product categories. Second, critics of CCT programs claim that most of this discretionary income is squandered in superfluous consumption, pushing these poor households into new unsustainable lifestyle. Third, most tests of the impact of CCT programs are based on controlled experiments conducted either before or at the beginning of the program's full implementation. In contrast, our assessment is done after Bolsa Familia has been fully implemented, which required us to design a natural experiment combining propensity scoring with econometric modeling. Based on this natural experiment, we are able to quantify the effect of Bolsa Familia on its participants, and also the incremental demand for various product categories generated by this CCT program. Contrary to what detractors of the program claim, we find that most of the extra cash is devoted to essential goods (food, clothing, tec.) rather than superfluous consumption.

Sticks or carrots? Conditional cash transfers and their effect on child abuse and neglect: Researchers observe both benefits and harms of CCT programs

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on various economic sectors, one of which is the agricultural sector. This important role of the agricultural sector often ignores the socio-economic conditions of the farmer's household. This research aims to analyze the degree of food security of farmer households during of the Covid-19 pandemic. The method used is the descriptive quantitative method using income and expenditure variables of farmers' households in the last month. The results showed that calculation of the structure of the household income of farmers is dominated by the structure of income from farming by 82.63 %, while the rest comes from non-farming by 17.37 %. Then for the expenditure structure of farmer households, non-food expenditures are greater than food expenditures, which is 59 % compared to food expenditures of 41 %. This gives an understanding that farmers' income is quite high and tends to spend their income to meet needs outside of food (non-food). By using indicators of food security, namely the level of food subsistence and the share of food expenditure, then farmer households in Kebasen District, Banyumas Regency are classified as high or food Unresistant during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) schemes have become a key policy tool for reducing rural poverty and strengthening household resilience in Nigeria. This study investigated conditional cash transfer and vulnerability to poverty in rural Southwestern Nigeria. The objective of the study encompasses purposes for which households use the provided cash resources, participation in CCT activities and vulnerability to poverty of rural households. The research design for this study was a mixed method design. The study employed an extensive six-stage sampling approach to collect data from 242 household beneficiaries and 242 non-beneficiaries of CCTs. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistic at p =0.05. The findings reveal that a majority of CCT beneficiaries (99.2%) allocate their cash stipends towards essential needs such as food and cooperative savings. Additionally, 75.2% of beneficiaries use the funds for educational expenses while only 48.4% of beneficiaries invest in agricultural activities. Participation in CCT activities, particularly in life skills training and empowerment programs, was strong, with 76.4% of beneficiaries actively engaged. The study identified a significant correlation between beneficiaries' participation in CCT activities and reduced vulnerability to poverty, as beneficiaries experience a lower rate of poverty-related challenges compared to non-beneficiaries (r=-0.257**, p≤0.05) and a statistically significant difference in poverty vulnerability between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries, underscoring the effectiveness of CCT in reducing household poverty (t=7.312*, p&lt;0.05). However, while CCT has contributed to immediate poverty alleviation, challenges remain in sustaining long-term improvements, particularly in agriculture and debt repayment. The study recommends expanding CCT coverage to non-beneficiaries, enhancing agricultural support, and strengthening educational and health-related components to ensure sustainable poverty reduction.