Short-term impacts of an unconditional cash transfer program on child schooling: Experimental evidence from Malawi

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of a positive income shock on child schooling outcomes using experimental data from an unconditional cash transfer program in Malawi. Since households receive the cash and parents are responsible for making spending decisions, we also examine the intervening pathways between cash transfers and child schooling. Data comes from a cluster-randomized study of Malawi’s Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP). After a baseline survey, households in village clusters were randomly assigned to treatment and control arms with treatment villages receiving transfers immediately and control villages assigned a later entry. We test for treatment impacts on a panel of school-aged children (6–17) using a differences-in-differences model. After a years’ worth of transfers, we find the Malawi SCTP both improves enrollment rates and decreases dropouts. The main intervening pathway between the program and schooling is education expenditures, suggesting that the cash improves the demand for education by reducing financial constraints.

Private Intergenerational Transfers, Family Structure, and Health in a sub‐Saharan African Context

“…In consumption terms, SCT transfers comprise about 20 percent of pre‐program per capita consumption for the average household (Kilburn et al. )…”

“…Despite advantages incurred by beneficiaries of this program (Ellis and Maliro ; Ellis and Manda ; Kilburn et al. ; Miller et al. ; Nanivazo ), on a societal level, the implications of the SCT program on transfer patterns and within‐family income pooling and/or insurance provision are limited, as coverage rates of the SCT and related programs remain low (ILO ).…”

“…The SCT program has been found to affect several dimensions of family life (Ellis and Maliro ; Ellis and Manda ; Kilburn et al. ; Miller et al. ; Nanivazo ).…”

Cash Transfers, Early Marriage, and Fertility in Malawi and Zambia

“…In addition, both programs were found to increase child school attendance, yet non‐negligible increases were also found in child work participation (both in household entrepreneurial activities and household chores) as children played a role in helping with household productive investment (de Hoop, Groppo, and Handa ; Kilburn et al. ). In addition, analysis from Malawi indicates that programs increased household resilience and ability to cope with shocks, and mental health of youth aged 13 to 19 at baseline (UNC ; Angeles et al.…”

“…Previous analysis examining the impacts of the Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP) and Multiple Category Targeted Grant (MCTG) on primary outcomes has concluded that at the household level, both programs increased consumption, food security, material welfare and assets, and strengthened livelihoods and productive investment, while decreasing monetary poverty (UNC 2016;Fisher et al 2017;Brugh et al 2018;). In addition, both programs were found to increase child school attendance, yet non-negligible increases were also found in child work participation (both in household entrepreneurial activities and household chores) as children played a role in helping with household productive investment (de Hoop, Groppo, and Handa 2017;Kilburn et al 2017). In addition, analysis from Malawi indicates that programs increased household resilience and ability to cope with shocks, and mental health of youth aged 13 to 19 at baseline (UNC 2016;Angeles et al 2017).…”