Conditional Cash Transfers: Reducing Present and Future PovertyConditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs aim to reduce poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the receivers' actions. That is, the government only transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria. These criteria may include enrolling children into public schools, getting regular check-ups at the doctor's office, receiving vaccinations, or the like. They have been hailed as a way of reducing inequality and helping households break out of a vicious cycle whereby poverty is transmitted from one generation to another. Do these and other claims make sense? Are they supported by the available empirical evidence? This volume seeks to answer these and other related questions. Specifically, it lays out a conceptual framework for thinking about the economic rationale for CCTs; it reviews the very rich evidence that has accumulated on CCTs; it discusses how the conceptual framework and the evidence on impacts should inform the design of CCT programs in practice; and it discusses how CCTs fit in the context of broader social policies. The authors show that there is considerable evidence that CCTs have improved the lives of poor people and argue that conditional cash transfers have been an effective way of redistributing income to the poor. They also recognize that even the best-designed and managed CCT cannot fulfill all of the needs of a comprehensive social protection system. They therefore need to be complemented with other interventions, such as workfare or employment programs, and social pensions. |
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Additional benefits Conditions Attanasio Bangladesh baseline beneficiaries Benefit structure Payee Bolsa Escola Bolsa Família Brazil Cambodia CCT programs CESSP children aged Chile Solidario Colombia compliance–method Verification Conditional Cash Transfers consumption country context Coverage Incidence Household Duration Additional benefits Ecuador Education Net enrollment eligible estimates evidence Familias en Acción families girls grade health and education Honduras human capital impact of CCTs Incidence Household Benefits income Indicators database 2008 investments Jamaica Janvry method Coverage Incidence method Payment frequency Mexico monitoring months Nicaragua nutrition Oportunidades outcomes Pakistan Payee Payment method Payment frequency Duration Payment method Payment percent poor households poorest population Targeting method PRAF program effects proxy means test purchasing power parity ratio at $2/day redistribution reduced school enrollment skilled health staff started Status Targeting Status Targeting Target structure Payee Payment subsidy Target population Targeting Targeting method Coverage Targeting Target population Verification of compliance–frequency Verification of compliance–method World Bank