Conditional Cash Transfer

I. The Impact of Philippines’ Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Consumption [Tutor,

2014]
Method:PPM
i. Beneficiary households increased their consumption of education-
related goods (which is required by the program). The author
believes that this comes from the participants ‘resolve to continue
participating in the program and also because they believe in the
logic of the program and are optimistic to its future results.
ii. Participants consumed goods at the minimal level requirement set
by the program and used the remaining cash received on
food(carbohydrates mainly rice or corn due to its resilience being
stored)
iii. Program also affected purchasing behaviour due to its lump sum
nature, prompting participants to buy food at the receipt of cash
which also marks the beginning of the payout cycle.
iv. CCT through 4Ps didn’t affect consumption patterns aside from
education, clothing and carbohydrates and the author believes that
this happens due to the deep state of need of the beneficiaries. This
undermines potential usage of the received cash on luxury items or
non-essential goods since essential goods will be prioritized.

Recommendations:
-Over-time changes in educational expenditure per child should be
noted
-Determination of potential beneficiary households should be
noted.
-Transparency on how cash grants are determined and
improvement of cash release scheduling

II. Title: Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs on Educational Outcomes in

Developing Countries[Saavedra &Garcia, 2012]
Method: Random-Effects Model
i. Positive relationship between CCT, enrolment rates and student
attendance across primary and secondary levels. While, negative
relationship between dropout rates and CCT.
ii. Effect of CCT is more significant in Secondary level
iii. Incentive-based conditions increased attendance and enrolment
rates.

Recommendations:
 Clear reporting standards for CCT data so as to have a clearer
models in the future.

III.
Title: Searching for Effective Poverty Interventions
Method: NA/Policy Paper

Key Points:
i. CCT programs’ success depends on recipient’s response to CCT (CCT can reduce
working hours of people)
ii. Social services/goods accessibility conditional on the receipt of the benefit
iii. Importance of effective implementation, targeting and monitoring the recipients

Note: Very informative paper on CCT in the Philippines, kunti lang keypoints but it can
help us understand CCT better

For countries considering interventions through CCT programs, a few recommendations

emerge from the brief. First, conditionality plays an imperative role in CCT programs.
Cash transfer, by itself, will not suffice to increase school attendance significantly, which
means that conditionality would have to be introduced, and possibly also, the quality of
schooling improved when administering any cash transfer programs aimed at a
sustained reduction in poverty. Second, it is also imperative to ensure ongoing
monitoring of operations and rigorous evaluation of effectiveness of CCT programs.
Third, good governance is an important component of a CCT program. As is the case for
all effective social safety nets, a CCT program should be transparent in operation to
encourage learning, minimize corruption, and ensure that beneficiaries and the wider
population understand how the program functions. Fourth, political support at high
levels for the program is one of the main issues to be considered in implementing a CCT
program. Such political supports are critical as a CCT program requires coordination
across different sectors in the government, particularly education, health, and social
welfare. In addition, policymakers face many challenges and tradeoffs in designing
effective social programs such as a CCT. On one hand, the emphasis on targeting and
conditionality helps maximize the program’s impact and effectiveness. However,
targeting and monitoring can increase the cost per beneficiary, which reduces the
program’s efficiency. On the other hand, designing a program with a weak or
nonexistent targeting strategy not only reduces the cost per beneficiary but also leads to
 leakages to the nonpoor, driving down its impact and effectiveness. Finally, to ensure
success, complementing CCT programs with other components of social policy may
prove meritorious. Complementary programs that can manage the supply side of
services and accommodate the heterogeneity of targeted household behavior will
enhance the effectiveness of CCT programs.

Assessing the Long-term Effects of Conditional Cash Transfers on

Human Capital: Evidence from Colombia [Baez & Camacho, 2011]

i. “treated children are on average between 4 and 8 percentage points –

equivalent to an increase of 8-16 percent – more likely to graduate from
high school relative to those in the control group.”

ii. “ a conservative extrapolation of program impacts to this

population would be equivalent to around 100,000- 200,000
additional high school graduates.”