Can Conditional Cash Transfers Compensate for a Father's Absence?

Fitzsimons, Emla ; Mesnard, Alice

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCOUNT;    ADOLESCENTS;    ADULT MORTALITY;    ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES;    ADVERSE EFFECTS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6476
RP-ID  :  WPS6476

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper investigates how thepermanent departure of the father from a household affectschildren's school enrollment and work participation inrural Colombia. The results indicate that the permanentdeparture of the father decreases children's schoolenrollment by approximately 5 percentage points andincreases child labor by 3 percentage points. This paperexplores the rollout of a conditional-cash-transfer programduring the period of study and shows that this programcounteracts these adverse effects. When coupled with otherevidence, this finding strongly suggests that the channelthrough which the father's departure most affectschildren is by reducing the income of very poor households,which tightens their liquidity constraints. This findingalso highlights the important safety-net role played bywelfare programs with respect to disadvantaged households,particularly because these households are unlikely to haveformal or informal mechanisms with which to insurethemselves against such vagaries.