Are There Diminishing Returns to Transfer Size in Conditional Cash Transfers?

Filmer, Deon ; Schady, Norbert

关键词: ACCOUNTING;    ADMINISTRATIVE DATA;    ADULTS;    AMOUNT OF MONEY;    APPLICATION FORM;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-4999
RP-ID  :  WPS4999

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

There is increasing evidence thatconditional cash transfer programs can have large impacts onschool enrollment, including in very poor countries.However, little is known about which features of programdesign -- including the amount of the cash that istransferred, how frequently conditions are monitored,whether non-complying households are penalized, and theidentity or gender of the cash recipients -- account for theobserved outcomes. This paper analyzes the impact of onefeature of program design -- namely, the magnitude of thetransfer. The analysis uses data from a program in Cambodiathat deliberately altered the transfer amounts received byotherwise comparable households. The findings show clearevidence of diminishing marginal returns to transfer sizedespite the fact that even the larger transfers representedon average only 3 percent of the consumption of the medianrecipient households. If applicable to other settings, theseresults have important implications for other programs thattransfer cash with the explicit aim of increasing schoolenrollment levels in developing countries.