IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/deveco/v155y2022ics0304387821001590.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of cash transfers on Syrian refugees in Lebanon: Evidence from a multidimensional regression discontinuity design

Author

Listed:
  • Salti, Nisreen
  • Chaaban, Jad
  • Moussa, Wael
  • Irani, Alexandra
  • Al Mokdad, Rima
  • Jamaluddine, Zeina
  • Ghattas, Hala

Abstract

This paper evaluates the impact of multipurpose cash assistance on refugee households, by relying on an original sampling design that allows tracing these impacts over multiple periods. Using two waves of household survey data collected in 2019 from economically vulnerable Syrian refugee households in Lebanon, we estimate the program impact of varying cash assistance durations including: discontinued recipients (received cash for 12 months then got discontinued in the next cash cycle), short-run cash recipients (12 months or less), long-run recipients (more than 12 months) and non-beneficiary eligible households. Using a sharp multidimensional regression discontinuity design, we find that most detected impacts materialize in the long-term cash group, indicating the importance of instituting longer-term cash cycles. Households in the long-run group had significantly higher levels of total household and food expenditures, higher access to residential housing and formal enrollment for children, and lower levels of child labor.

Suggested Citation

  • Salti, Nisreen & Chaaban, Jad & Moussa, Wael & Irani, Alexandra & Al Mokdad, Rima & Jamaluddine, Zeina & Ghattas, Hala, 2022. "The impact of cash transfers on Syrian refugees in Lebanon: Evidence from a multidimensional regression discontinuity design," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:155:y:2022:i:c:s0304387821001590
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102803
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387821001590
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102803?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eric V. Edmonds & Norbert Schady, 2012. "Poverty Alleviation and Child Labor," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 100-124, November.
    2. Dabalen,Andrew L. & Kilic,Talip & Wane,Waly & Dabalen,Andrew L. & Kilic,Talip & Wane,Waly, 2008. "Social transfers, labor supply and poverty reduction : the case of Albania," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4783, The World Bank.
    3. Barrientos, Armando, 2012. "Social Transfers and Growth: What Do We Know? What Do We Need to Find Out?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 11-20.
    4. Manuela Angelucci & Orazio Attanasio & Vincenzo Di Maro, 2012. "The Impact of Oportunidades on Consumption, Savings and Transfers," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 33(3), pages 305-334, September.
    5. Altındağ, Onur & O'Connell, Stephen D. & Şaşmaz, Aytuğ & Balcıoğlu, Zeynep & Cadoni, Paola & Jerneck, Matilda & Foong, Aimee Kunze, 2021. "Targeting humanitarian aid using administrative data: Model design and validation," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    6. Matias D. Cattaneo & Michael Jansson & Xinwei Ma, 2020. "Simple Local Polynomial Density Estimators," Journal of the American Statistical Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 115(531), pages 1449-1455, July.
    7. Paolo VERME, 2016. "The Economics Of Forced Displacement: An Introduction," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 44, pages 141-163.
    8. Victoria Hosegood & Anne Case & Cally Ardington, 2009. "Labor Supply Responses to Large Social Transfers: Longitudinal Evidence from South Africa," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 22-48, January.
    9. Jessica Hagen‐Zanker & Martina Ulrichs & Rebecca Holmes, 2018. "What are the effects of cash transfers for refugees in the context of protracted displacement? Findings from Jordan," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 71(2), pages 57-77, April.
    10. Elizaveta Perova & Renos Vakis, 2012. "5 Years in Juntos: New Evidence on the Program’s Short and Long-Term Impacts," Revista Economía, Fondo Editorial - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, vol. 35(69), pages 53-82.
    11. Imbens, Guido W. & Lemieux, Thomas, 2008. "Regression discontinuity designs: A guide to practice," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 615-635, February.
    12. Marie Gaarder & Amanda Glassman & Jessica Todd, 2010. "Conditional cash transfers and health: unpacking the causal chain," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 6-50.
    13. Papay, John P. & Willett, John B. & Murnane, Richard J., 2011. "Extending the regression-discontinuity approach to multiple assignment variables," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 161(2), pages 203-207, April.
    14. Lili Mottaghi, 2016. "MENA’s Forced Displacement Crisis," World Bank Publications - Reports 24383, The World Bank Group.
    15. Paul J. Gertler & Sebastian W. Martinez & Marta Rubio-Codina, 2012. "Investing Cash Transfers to Raise Long-Term Living Standards," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(1), pages 164-192, January.
    16. Marito Garcia & Charity M. T. Moore, 2012. "The Cash Dividend : The Rise of Cash Transfer Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2246, December.
    17. Jacobus de Hoop & Mitchell Morey & David Seidenfeld & UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti, 2018. "No Lost Generation: Supporting the School Participation of Displaced Syrian Children in Lebanon," Papers inwopa955, Innocenti Working Papers.
    18. Johannes Haushofer & Jeremy Shapiro, 2016. "The Short-term Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers to the Poor: ExperimentalEvidence from Kenya," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1973-2042.
    19. Paul Schultz, T., 2004. "School subsidies for the poor: evaluating the Mexican Progresa poverty program," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 199-250, June.
    20. Indunil De Silva & Sudarno Sumarto, 2015. "How do Educational Transfers Affect Child Labour Supply and Expenditures? Evidence from Indonesia of Impact and Flypaper Effects," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 483-507, December.
    21. Anna Aizer & Shari Eli & Joseph Ferrie & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2016. "The Long-Run Impact of Cash Transfers to Poor Families," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(4), pages 935-971, April.
    22. Silvio Daidone & Benjamin Davis, 2012. "Analytical Framework for Evaluating the Productive Impact of Cash Transfer Programmes on Household Behaviour," One Pager 185, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    23. Handa, Sudhanshu & Peterman, Amber & Davis, Benjamin & Stampini, Marco, 2009. "Opening Up Pandora's Box: The Effect of Gender Targeting and Conditionality on Household Spending Behavior in Mexico's Progresa Program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 1129-1142, June.
    24. Ariel Fiszbein & Norbert Schady & Francisco H.G. Ferreira & Margaret Grosh & Niall Keleher & Pedro Olinto & Emmanuel Skoufias, 2009. "Conditional Cash Transfers : Reducing Present and Future Poverty," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2597, December.
    25. Benjamin Davis & Sudhanshu Handa & Marta Ruiz-Arranz & Marco Stampini & Paul Winters, 2002. "Conditionality and the Impact of Programme Design on Household welfare: Comparing two diverse cash transfer programmes in rural Mexico," Working Papers 02-10, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    26. Skoufias, Emmanuel & Gonzalez-Cossio, Teresa, 2008. "The Impacts of Cash and In-Kind Transfers on Consumption and Labor Supply: Experimental Evidence from Rural Mexico," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4778, The World Bank.
    27. Gustavo Canavire Bacarreza & Harold Vasquez Ruiz, 2013. "Labour Supply Effects of Conditional Transfers: Analyzing the Dominican Republic's Solidarity," Documentos de Trabajo CIEF 10732, Universidad EAFIT.
    28. McCrary, Justin, 2008. "Manipulation of the running variable in the regression discontinuity design: A density test," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 698-714, February.
    29. Luis H. B. Braido & Pedro Olinto & Helena Perrone, 2012. "Gender Bias in Intrahousehold Allocation: Evidence from an Unintentional Experiment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 94(2), pages 552-565, May.
    30. Deaton, Angus, 1992. "Understanding Consumption," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198288244, Decembrie.
    31. Isabel Ruiz & Carlos Vargas-Silva, 2013. "The Economics of Forced Migration," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(6), pages 772-784, June.
    32. Davis, Benjamin & Handa, Sudhanshu & Ruiz -Arranz, Marta & Stampini, Marco & Winters, Paul, 2002. "Conditionality and the impact of program design on household welfare: comparing two diverse cash transfer programs in rural Mexico," ESA Working Papers 289104, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA).
    33. Armando Barrientos & Juan Miguel Villa, 2013. "Antipoverty transfers and labour force participation effects," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series 18513, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    34. Schady, Norbert & Araujo, Maria Caridad, 2006. "Cash transfers, conditions, school enrollment, and child work : evidence from a randomized experiment in Ecuador," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3930, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Orwa Al-Abdulla & Abdulkarim Ekzayez & Agneta Kallström & Camilo Valderrama & Maher Alaref & Jussi Kauhanen, 2023. "Health system recovery in Northwest Syria–challenges and operationalization," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Altındağ, Onur & O’Connell, Stephen D., 2023. "The short-lived effects of unconditional cash transfers to refugees," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    3. Ahrens, Achim & Hangartner, Dominik & Casalis, Marine & Sánchez, Rodrigo, 2023. "Cash-Based Interventions Improve Multidimensional Integration Outcomes of Venezuelan Immigrants," SocArXiv 5sh8a, Center for Open Science.
    4. Federico Crippa, 2024. "Manipulation Test for Multidimensional RDD," Papers 2402.10836, arXiv.org.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Moussa, Wael & Salti, Nisreen & Irani, Alexandra & Mokdad, Rima Al & Jamaluddine, Zeina & Chaaban, Jad & Ghattas, Hala, 2022. "The impact of cash transfers on Syrian refugee children in Lebanon," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    2. Zurab Abramishvili & Lasha Lanchava, 2015. "Education for the Poor," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp542, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    3. Dragan Filipovich & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa & Alma Santillán Hernández, 2018. "Campaign externalities, programmatic spending, and voting preferences in rural Mexico: The case of Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera programme," WIDER Working Paper Series 027, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Independent Evaluation Group, 2014. "Social Safety Nets and Gender : Learning from Impact Evaluations and World Bank Projects," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 21365, December.
    5. Dragan Filipovich & Miguel Niño-Zarazúa & Alma Santillán Hernández, 2018. "Campaign externalities, programmatic spending, and voting preferences in rural Mexico: The case of Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera programme," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2018-27, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Jacobus de Hoop & Furio C. Rosati, 2014. "Cash Transfers and Child Labor," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 29(2), pages 202-234.
    7. Solomon Asfaw & Silvio Daidone & Benjamin Davis & Josh Dewbre & Alessandro Romeo & Paul Winters & Katia Covarrubias & Habiba Djebbari, 2012. "Analytical Framework for Evaluating the Productive Impact of Cash Transfer Programmes on Household Behaviour – Methodological Guidelines for the From Protection to Production Project," Working Papers 101, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth.
    8. Michael Clemens & Erwin Tiongson, 2012. "Split Decisions: Family finance when a policy discontinuity allocates overseas work," RF Berlin - CReAM Discussion Paper Series 1234, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin) - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM).
    9. Amarante, Véronica & Ferrando, Mery & Vigorito, Andrea, 2011. "School Attendance, Child Labor and Cash Transfer: An impact evaluation of PANES," PEP Policy Briefs 164618, Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP).
    10. Stephen Smith, 2018. "Development Economics Meets the Challenges of Lagging U.S. Areas: Applications to Education, Health and Nutrition, Behavior, and Infrastructure," Working Papers 2018-7, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    11. Harold Alderman & Ruslan Yemtsov, 2014. "How Can Safety Nets Contribute to Economic Growth?," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 28(1), pages 1-20.
    12. Morton, Gregory Duff, 2019. "The power of lump sums: Using maternity payment schedules to reduce the gender asset gap in households reached by Brazil’s Bolsa Família conditional cash transfer," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 352-367.
    13. Ariel Fiszbein & Norbert Schady & Francisco H.G. Ferreira & Margaret Grosh & Niall Keleher & Pedro Olinto & Emmanuel Skoufias, 2009. "Conditional Cash Transfers : Reducing Present and Future Poverty," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2597, December.
    14. M. Caridad Araujo & Mariano Bosch & Norbert Schady, 2017. "Can Cash Transfers Help Households Escape an Inter-Generational Poverty Trap?," NBER Chapters,in: The Economics of Asset Accumulation and Poverty Traps National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Ma, Zhao & Bauchet, Jonathan & Steele, Diana & Godoy, Ricardo & Radel, Claudia & Zanotti, Laura, 2017. "Comparison of Direct Transfers for Human Capital Development and Environmental Conservation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 498-517.
    16. Bergolo, Marcelo & Galván, Estefanía, 2018. "Intra-household Behavioral Responses to Cash Transfer Programs. Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 100-118.
    17. M. Caridad Araujo & Mariano Bosch & Norbert Schady, 2017. "Can Cash Transfers Help Households Escape an Intergenerational Poverty Trap?," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Poverty Traps, pages 357-382, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Nicola Brandt, 2012. "Reducing Poverty in Chile: Cash Transfers and Better Jobs," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 951, OECD Publishing.
    19. Gurgand, Marc & Lorenceau, Adrien & Mélonio, Thomas, 2023. "Student loans: Credit constraints and higher education in South Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    20. Can Tang & Liqiu Zhao & Zhong Zhao, 2020. "Does free education help combat child labor? The effect of a free compulsory education reform in rural China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 601-631, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:155:y:2022:i:c:s0304387821001590. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devec .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.