Unconditional Government Social Cash Transfer in Africa Does Not Increase Fertility

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Citation

Palermo, Tia M.; Handa, Sudhanshu; Peterman, Amber; Prencipe, Leah; & Seidenfeld, David (2016). Unconditional Government Social Cash Transfer in Africa Does Not Increase Fertility. Journal of Population Economics, 29(4), 1083-1111. PMCID: PMC6687336

Abstract

Among policymakers, a common perception surrounding the effects of cash transfer programmes, particularly unconditional programmes targeted to families with children, is that they induce increased fertility. We evaluate the Zambian Child Grant Programme, a government unconditional cash transfer targeted to families with a child under the age of 5 and examine impacts on fertility and household composition. The evaluation was a cluster randomized control trial, with data collected over 4 years from 2010 to 2014. Our results indicate that there are no programme impacts on overall fertility. Our results contribute to a small evidence base demonstrating that there are no unintended incentives related to fertility due to cash transfers.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00148-016-0596-x

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2016

Journal Title

Journal of Population Economics

Author(s)

Palermo, Tia M.
Handa, Sudhanshu
Peterman, Amber
Prencipe, Leah
Seidenfeld, David

PMCID

PMC6687336