Cash Transfers and Child Schooling: Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation of the Role of Conditionality

Harounan Kazianga, Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics and Legal Studies in Business at Oklahoma State University's Spears School of Business, will present on February 18th in Room 105 of the Agricultural Administration Building (2120 Fyffe Road) as part of the AEDE Applied Economics Seminar Series. His presentation will focus on his research with Richard Akresh from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Damien de Walque from the World Bank: "Cash Transfers and Child Schooling: Evidence from a Randomized  Evaluation of the Role of Conditionality."

Abstract: We conduct a randomized experiment in rural Burkina Faso to estimate the impact of alternative cash transfer delivery mechanisms on education. The two-year pilot program randomly distributed cash transfers that were either conditional (CCT) or unconditional (UCT). Families under the CCT schemes were required to have their children ages 7-15 enrolled in school and attend classes regularly. There were no such requirements under the unconditional programs. Results indicate that UCTs and CCTs have a similar impact increasing the enrollment of children who are traditionally favored by parents for school participation, including boys, older children, and higher ability children. However, CCTs are significantly more effective than UCTs in improving the enrollment of “marginal children” who are initially less likely to go to school, such as girls, younger children, and lower ability children. Thus, conditionality plays a critical role in benefiting children who are less likely to receive investments from their parents.

This event is open to the public and RSVPs are not required. If you have any questions, please contact us.