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Stopped in the Name of the Law: Administrative Burden and its Implications for Cash Transfer Program Effectiveness

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  • Heinrich, Carolyn J.
  • Brill, Robert

Abstract

Cash transfer programs have achieved wide-ranging success in reducing poverty, yet there is little empirical research on how program rules and administrative capacity might limit program effectiveness. We examine administrative burden and quantify its implications for grant access and impacts in the South African Child Support Grant (CSG) program, as the age of eligibility and application requirements changed over time. We find that approximately 60% of the sampled children experienced an interruption or disconnection in cash transfer receipt, and that both timing and “dosage” loss are associated with adolescent engagement in risky behaviors, and for females, lower educational attainment.

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  • Heinrich, Carolyn J. & Brill, Robert, 2015. "Stopped in the Name of the Law: Administrative Burden and its Implications for Cash Transfer Program Effectiveness," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 277-295.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:72:y:2015:i:c:p:277-295
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2015.03.015
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    2. Heinrich, Carolyn J. & Knowles, Matthew T., 2020. "A fine predicament: Conditioning, compliance and consequences in a labeled cash transfer program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
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    5. Halling, Aske & Bækgaard, Martin, 2022. "Administrative Burden in Citizen-State Interactions: A Systematic Literature Review," OSF Preprints 26xdj, Center for Open Science.
    6. Helen Elizabeth Denise Burchett & Dylan Kneale & Sally Griffin & Málica de Melo & Joelma Joaquim Picardo & Rebecca S. French, 2022. "Which Structural Interventions for Adolescent Contraceptive Use Have Been Evaluated in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-31, September.
    7. Pfutze, Tobias, 2019. "Should program graduation be better targeted? The other schooling outcomes of Mexico’s Oportunidades," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Carolyn J. Heinrich & Sayil Camacho & Sarah Clark Henderson & Mónica Hernández & Ela Joshi, 2022. "Consequences of Administrative Burden for Social Safety Nets that Support the Healthy Development of Children," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(1), pages 11-44, January.

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