Health spillover effects of a conditional cash transfer program
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Health spillover effects of a conditional cash transfer program Diana Contreras Suarez1
· Pushkar Maitra2
Received: 1 April 2019 / Accepted: 7 October 2020 / © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract We use data from the Familias en Accion ´ program in Colombia to examine the spillover or indirect effects of a conditional cash transfer program. Our results show that the program has significant spillover effects: it leads to an improvement in the health of non-targeted individuals in treatment households in terms of both incidence and severity of illness. The benefits are stronger for women and the elderly in the short run and for men in the medium run. Our analysis suggests that these spillovers are driven by increased access to information in the household that creates a public good. Keywords Conditional cash transfer · Health spillovers · Colombia · Familias en Accion ´ · Mechanisms JEL Classification O15 · I15 · I38 · D62
1 Introduction Policy makers in developing countries around the world are increasingly using conditional cash transfers (henceforth CCTs) to improve the health, nutritional and
Responsible editor: Shuaizhang Feng Diana Contreras Suarez
[email protected] Pushkar Maitra [email protected] 1
Melbourne Institute: Applied Economics & Social Research, The University of Melbourne, Level 5, FBE Building (111 Barry Street), Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
2
Department of Economics, Monash University, Clayton Campus, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
D. Contreras Suarez, P. Maitra
educational outcomes of children in poor households.1 These schemes give stipends and food to the poorest if they meet specific conditions (for example, their children attend school or their babies are vaccinated). The main idea behind CCTs is to promote long-run development by targeting poor households with children and incentivizing caregivers to invest in their children’s human capital. Healthier and better educated children are likely to be more productive adults and to have higher earnings, thereby breaking the vicious cycle that perpetuates poverty over generations. Indeed, The Economist has termed CCTs as the world’s favourite new anti-poverty device (Economist 2010). In this paper we examine the indirect effects, or spillovers, associated with CCT programs. Direct effects of such programs have been extensively studied, and it is now generally accepted that CCT programs have significant effects on children. The positive direct effects are the result of these programs improving children’s nutritional status (Behrman and Hoddinott 2005; Attanasio and Mesnard 2006), health status (Gertler and Boyce 2001; Gertler 2004; Attanasio et al. 2004; Attanasio et al. 2005), school participation (Baez and Camacho 2011; Attanasio et al. 2005; Fitzsimons and Mesnard 2008; Attanasio et al. 2010) and consumption (Maluccio and Flores 2005; Attanasio et al. 2005). These are direct effects as the CCTs were indeed targeted to improve children’s outcomes, particularly health.2 However,
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