Cash Transfers, Behavioral Changes, and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

Karen Macours 1, 2 Norbert Schady 3 Renos Vakis 4
1 PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques
2 PSE - Paris School of Economics
3 IDB - Inter-American Development Bank
4 Banque Mondiale
Abstract : Cash transfer programs have become extremely popular in the developing world. A large literature analyzes their effects on schooling, health and nutrition, but relatively little is known about possible impacts on child development. This paper analyzes the impact of a cash transfer program on early childhood cognitive development. Children in households randomly assigned to receive benefits had significantly higher levels of development nine months after the program began. There is no fade-out of program effects two years after the program ended. Additional random variation shows that these impacts are unlikely to result from the cash component of the program alone.
keyword : H23 I15 J13 O15
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Journal articles
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https://hal-pjse.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00754593
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Submitted on : Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - 9:56:55 AM
Last modification on : Thursday, June 13, 2019 - 4:50:02 PM

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Karen Macours, Norbert Schady, Renos Vakis. Cash Transfers, Behavioral Changes, and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, 2012, 4 (2), pp.247-273. ⟨10.1257/app.4.2.247⟩. ⟨halshs-00754593⟩

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