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The short-term impacts of a schooling conditional cash transfer program on the sexual behavior of young women

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  • Baird, Sarah
  • Chirwa, Ephraim
  • McIntosh, Craig
  • Ozler, Berk

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that conditional cash transfer programs for schooling are effective in raising school enrollment and attendance. However, there is also reason to believe that such programs can affect other outcomes, such as the sexual behavior of their young beneficiaries. Zomba Cash Transfer Program is a randomized, ongoing conditional cash transfer intervention targeting young women in Malawi that provides incentives (in the form of school fees and cash transfers) to current schoolgirls and recent dropouts to stay in or return to school. An average offer of US$10/month conditional on satisfactory school attendance – plus direct payment of secondary school fees – led to significant declines in early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and self-reported sexual activity among program beneficiaries after just one year of program implementation. For program beneficiaries who were out of school at baseline, the probability of getting married and becoming pregnant declined by more than 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively. In addition, the incidence of the onset of sexual activity was 38 percent lower among all program beneficiaries than the control group. Overall, these results suggest that conditional cash transfer programs not only serve as useful tools for improving school attendance, but may also reduce sexual activity, teen pregnancy, and early marriage.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by The World Bank in its series Policy Research Working Paper Series with number 5089.

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Date of creation: 01 Oct 2009
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Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5089

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Keywords: Population Policies; Adolescent Health; Education For All; Primary Education; Disease Control&Prevention;

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  1. Bruhn, Miriam & McKenzie, David, 2008. "In pursuit of balance : randomization in practice in development field experiments," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4752, The World Bank.
  2. Yamano, Takashi & Jayne, T. S., 2004. "Measuring the Impacts of Working-Age Adult Mortality on Small-Scale Farm Households in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 91-119, January.
  3. Jishnu Das, 2005. "Reassessing Conditional Cash Transfer Programs," World Bank Research Observer, World Bank Group, vol. 20(1), pages 57-80.
  4. Edward Miguel & Michael Kremer, 2004. "Worms: Identifying Impacts on Education and Health in the Presence of Treatment Externalities," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(1), pages 159-217, 01.
  5. Shelley Clark, 2004. "Early Marriage and HIV Risks in Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers 0406, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago.
  6. T. Paul Schultz, 2001. "School Subsidies for the Poor: Evaluating the Mexican Progresa Poverty Program," Working Papers 834, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
  7. Corno, Lucia & de Walque, Damien, 2007. "The determinants of HIV infection and related sexual behaviors : evidence from Lesotho," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4421, The World Bank.
  8. Duflo, Esther & Dupas, Pascaline & Kremer, Michael & Sinei, Samuel, 2006. "Education and HIV/AIDS prevention : evidence from a randomized evaluation in Western Kenya," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4024, The World Bank.
  9. de Walque, Damien, 2006. "Who gets AIDS and how ? The determinants of HIV infection and sexual behaviors in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3844, The World Bank.
  10. Filmer, Deon & Schady, Norbert, 2009. "School enrollment, selection and test scores," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4998, The World Bank.
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Cited by:
  1. Kirdar, Murat G. & Tayfur, Meltem Dayioglu & Koc, Ismet, 2011. "The Effect of Compulsory Schooling Laws on Teenage Marriage and Births in Turkey," IZA Discussion Papers 5887, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  2. World Bank, 2012. "Toward Gender Equality in East Asia and the Pacific : A Companion to the World Development Report," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 12598.
  3. Marcella M. Alsan & David M. Cutler, 2010. "Why did HIV decline in Uganda?," NBER Working Papers 16171, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  4. Amanda Glassman, Kate McQueston, and Rachel Silverman, 2012. "Adolescent Fertility in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Effects and Solutions - Working Paper 295," Working Papers 295, Center for Global Development.
  5. de Brauw, Alan & Peterman, Amber, 2011. "Can conditional cash transfers improve maternal health and birth outcomes?: Evidence from El Salvador's Comunidades Solidarias Rurales," IFPRI discussion papers 1080, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
  6. Darwin Cortés & Juan Gallego & Darío Maldonado, 2011. "On the design of education conditional cash transfer programs and non education outcomes: the case of teenage pregnancy," DOCUMENTOS DE TRABAJO 008828, UNIVERSIDAD DEL ROSARIO.
  7. Thomas, Ranjeeta & Jones, Andrew M & Squire, Lyn, 2010. "Methods for Evaluating Innovative Health Programs (EIHP): A Multi-Country Study," MPRA Paper 29402, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  8. Squire, Lyn & Jones, Andrew M & Thomas, Ranjeeta, 2010. "Evaluating Innovative Health Programs: Lessons for Health Policy," MPRA Paper 29205, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  9. Burke, Marshall & Gong, Erick & Jones, Kelly, 2011. "Income shocks and HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa:," IFPRI discussion papers 1146, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
  10. Bruno Martorano & Chris De Neubourg & Marco Sanfilippo & UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2012. "The Impact of Social Protection on Children: A review of the literature," Innocenti Working Papers inwopa666, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.

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