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The Impact of Cash Transfers on Child Outcomes in Rural Thailand: Evidence from a Social Pension Reform

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Listed:
  • Tabea Herrmann
  • Attakrit Leckcivilize
  • Juliane Zenker

Abstract

Unlike standard literature on the social pension policy and children's outcomes, this paper provides evidence from Thailand that an introduction of small (equivalent to 2–3 days of minimum wage) but universally covered social pension can affect educational choice and work status of children living with eligible pensioners. Such a result seems to be driven by the characteristics of newly eligible pensioners who are not as poor as the pensioners under the targeted program before the reform. Our findings also show differential effects of the social pension by genders of the children and pensioners. In particular, teenage boys living with male pensioners are more likely to enroll in the secondary school compared to children in the control group living with almost eligible seniors, while the results for teenage girls are rather inconclusive.

Suggested Citation

  • Tabea Herrmann & Attakrit Leckcivilize & Juliane Zenker, 2017. "The Impact of Cash Transfers on Child Outcomes in Rural Thailand: Evidence from a Social Pension Reform," PIER Discussion Papers 77, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:pui:dpaper:77
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    1. Sebastian Martinez & Michelle Pérez & Luis Tejerina & Anastasiya Yarygina, 2020. "Pensions for the Poor: the Effects of Non-contributory Pensions in El Salvador," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 96-115, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cash Transfer; Social Pension Reform; Education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • H55 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Social Security and Public Pensions

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