Private Intra-household Transfers as a Palliative for the Incompleteness of Social Protection: Evidence from Niger

This paper explores the distribution of private intra-household transfers in Niger. It aims to understand how these transfers could be a palliative to the inadequacy of social protection. Data provided from the Survey on Living Conditions of Households and Agriculture, conducted in 2014 were used. Multivariate statistics permitted to characterize private transfers received and quantile regressions to identify their determinants. Results of quantile regressions reveal that the household size, the donor's place of residence and the relationship with the donor positively explain the private transfers, which largely depend on various degrees of quantiles. The transfer from children to direct parents shows that an intergenerational solidarity allowing the elderly to be taken care. Results also show that the low level of education would lead to fewer transfers. Moreover, social events, often associated with immediate consumption and conspicuous spending, are sometimes favored to the detriment of private investments that could stimulate the country's economic growth. In terms of policy implications, two major challenges must be overcome. The first one is to formally mobilize private transfers to broaden the scope of social security. The second one is the ability to redirect these transfers to the needy populations and to productive investments. From this point of view, this study may be of interest to money transfer companies, particularly in their strategy for setting up agencies according to the national mapping of transfer flows.