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Cash and Change: A Replication and Further Analysis of a Cash Transfer Experiment in Malawi

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  • Maira Emy Reimão

Abstract

Cash or Condition is one of the few papers using a randomized control trial to directly compare the effects of conditional and unconditional cash transfers (CCTs and UCTs). Limited to the data made publicly available, I first conduct a narrow replication and find that the results that can be reproduced are largely similar to the original study. However, these results alone would lead us to the opposite conclusion from that in the paper and would indicate that UCTs are more effective at increasing school enrollment and attendance, as well as pregnancy and marriage, implying that UCTs are generally superior to CCTs for these outcomes. Widening the analysis to consider primary and secondary school girls separately, I find that while the UCT decreases the likelihood of early marriage for girls in both levels, its effect on early pregnancy is concentrated on primary school girls—even though households with secondary school girls received larger transfers.

Suggested Citation

  • Maira Emy Reimão, 2025. "Cash and Change: A Replication and Further Analysis of a Cash Transfer Experiment in Malawi," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(7), pages 862-872, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:japmet:v:40:y:2025:i:7:p:862-872
    DOI: 10.1002/jae.70002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Baird, Sarah & McIntosh, Craig & Özler, Berk, 2019. "When the money runs out: Do cash transfers have sustained effects on human capital accumulation?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 169-185.
    2. Norbert Schady & Ariel Fiszbein & Francisco H.G. Ferreira & Niall Keleher & Margaret Grosh & Pedro Olinto & Emmanuel Skoufias, 2009. "Conditional Cash Transfers : Reducing Present and Future Poverty," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2597, April.
    3. Banda, Chimwemwe & Duchoslav, Jan, 2023. "IFPRI key facts series: Agricultural cooperatives," MaSSP key facts May 2023, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. A. Colin Cameron & Douglas L. Miller, 2015. "A Practitioner’s Guide to Cluster-Robust Inference," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(2), pages 317-372.
    5. Sarah Baird & Craig McIntosh & Berk Özler, 2011. "Cash or Condition? Evidence from a Cash Transfer Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 126(4), pages 1709-1753.
    6. Damien de Walque & Christine Valente, 2023. "Incentivizing School Attendance in the Presence of Parent-Child Information Frictions," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 256-285, August.
    7. Annette N. Brown & Drew B. Cameron & Benjamin D. K. Wood, 2014. "Quality evidence for policymaking: I'll believe it when I see the replication," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 215-235, September.
    8. Sarah Baird & Francisco H.G. Ferreira & Berk Özler & Michael Woolcock, 2014. "Conditional, unconditional and everything in between: a systematic review of the effects of cash transfer programmes on schooling outcomes," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1-43, January.
    9. Sandra García & Juan Saavedra, 2017. "Educational Impacts and Cost-Effectiveness of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs in Developing Countries: A Meta-Analysis," NBER Working Papers 23594, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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