Own and Sibling Effects of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: Theory and Evidence from Cambodia

Abstract

The Impact Evaluation Series has been established in recognition of the importance of impact evaluation studies for World Bank operations and for development in general. The series serves as a vehicle for the dissemination of findings of those studies. Papers in this series are part of the Bank's Policy Research Working Paper Series. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Improving Education in Developing Countries

“…The limited available evidence indicates that this rarely occurs. For example, Ferreira, Filmer, and Schady (2009) found that CCTs in Cambodia in which eligibility varied substantially among siblings made recipients 20 percentage points more likely to be enrolled in school without affecting the enrollment of ineligible siblings.…”

Do financial incentives aimed at decreasing interhousehold inequality increase intrahousehold inequality?

“…Our results suggest that this shift in parental time is one key mechanism underlying the success of financial incentive interventions. We posit that the lack of consensus in prior studies may arise from their inability to separate parental time from other household resources, such as child labor hours and the time of siblings (Ferreira et al, 2009;Barrera-Osorio et al, 2011;Shrestha and Palaniswamy, 2017;Bustelo, 2011;Takamatsu, 2011). For example, in prior studies, earning financial incentives could mean siblings did not have to work outside the home as much, causing them to increase school attendance rates even as they experience less direct parental time investment.…”

“…How such interventions impact non-targeted children is unclear. Prior studies conducted in developing countries report mixed results, with some studies finding declines in the educational attainment of non-targeted siblings (Barrera-Osorio et al, 2011;Shrestha and Palaniswamy, 2017), one finding no effect (Ferreira et al, 2009) and some finding a positive effect on siblings' school attendance (Takamatsu, 2011;Bustelo, 2011). In all of these prior papers, a key consideration for the parental investment decision is the tradeoff between sending their young children to school or to work, whereas in the developed country context parents do not experience this stark tradeoff.…”

The Role of Social Protection in Building, Protecting, and Deploying Human Capital in the East Asia and Pacific Region

“…In China, an education-focused CCT reduced junior high school dropout rates by 60 percent and increased matriculation into high school (Li et al 2011;Mo et al 2013). In Cambodia, a scholarship program was found to increase school enrollment by 20 percentage points and reduce the rates at which children worked for pay by 10 percentage points, while an earlier scholarship was found to increase enrollment rates by 30 percentage points, especially among girls from the most disadvantaged households (Ferreira, Filmer, and Schady 2017;Filmer and Schady 2008). There is limited evidence on the impact of these programs on learning outcomes.…”