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Cash transfer programmes, weather shocks and household welfare: evidence from a randomised experiment in Zambia

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  • Solomon Asfaw
  • Alessandro Carraro
  • Benjamin Davis
  • Sudhanshu Handa
  • David Seidenfeld

Abstract

We assess the role of social cash transfer programmes against the negative effect of weather risk on rural households’ welfare using experimental impact evaluation data from Zambia. We find strong evidence that cash transfer has a mitigating role against the negative effects of weather shocks. Our results in fact highlight how important social cash transfer is for households lying in the bottom quantile of consumption and food security distributions in moderating the negative effect of weather shock. Integrating weather risk and social protection tools into a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy should therefore be of primary interest for policymakers.

Suggested Citation

  • Solomon Asfaw & Alessandro Carraro & Benjamin Davis & Sudhanshu Handa & David Seidenfeld, 2017. "Cash transfer programmes, weather shocks and household welfare: evidence from a randomised experiment in Zambia," Journal of Development Effectiveness, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 419-442, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevef:v:9:y:2017:i:4:p:419-442
    DOI: 10.1080/19439342.2017.1377751
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Melissa Dell & Benjamin F. Jones & Benjamin A. Olken, 2014. "What Do We Learn from the Weather? The New Climate-Economy Literature," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 52(3), pages 740-798, September.
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    2. Mary, Sebastien J. & Stoler, Avraham & Shafiq, Sarah & Craven, Kyle, 2023. "Dams of Malaria," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335448, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Stoeffler, Quentin & Patrick, Premand, 2018. "Do cash transfer increase poor household resilience? Evidence from rural Niger," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274216, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Sebastien Mary & Kyle Craven & Avraham Stoler & Sarah Shafiq, 2023. "Revisiting the Impact of Dams on Malaria and Agriculture," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, June.
    5. Premand, Patrick & Stoeffler, Quentin, 2022. "Cash transfers, climatic shocks and resilience in the Sahel," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    6. Yonas T. Bahta & Joseph P. Musara, 2022. "Quantifying the Impact of COVID-19 Relief Vouchers Schemes on Food Security: Empirical Evidence Insights from South Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-21, August.
    7. Hare Krisna Kundo & Martin Brueckner & Rochelle Spencer & John Davis, 2021. "Mainstreaming climate adaptation into social protection: The issues yet to be addressed," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(6), pages 953-974, August.
    8. Biyase, Mduduzi, 2018. "Assessing the impact of social grants on household welfare using morning after simulation and PSM approach," MPRA Paper 84477, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Ghulam Mustafa, 2022. "Weather Shocks, Unconditional Cash Transfers and Household Food Outcomes," PIDE-Working Papers 2022:8, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    10. Arndt, Channing & Davies, Rob & Gabriel, Sherwin & Harris, Laurence & Makrelov, Konstantin & Robinson, Sherman & Levy, Stephanie & Simbanegavi, Witness & van Seventer, Dirk & Anderson, Lillian, 2020. "Covid-19 lockdowns, income distribution, and food security: an analysis for South Africa," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 105814, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. Premand, Patrick & Stoeffler, Quentin, 2022. "Cash transfers, climatic shocks and resilience in the Sahel," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    12. Sébastien Mary, 2022. "A replication note on humanitarian aid and violence," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(3), pages 1465-1494, March.
    13. Molina, Teresa & Cho, Yoon Y., 2024. "The Importance of Existing Social Protection Programs for Mental Health in Pandemic Times," IZA Discussion Papers 16737, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Nawaz, Saima & Iqbal, Nasir, 2021. "How cash transfers program affects environmental poverty among ultra-poor? Insights from the BISP in Pakistan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PB).
    15. Katrin Gasior & Silvia Navarro & Jukka Pirttilä & Mari Kangasniemi, 2022. "Distributional impacts of agricultural policies in Zambia: A microsimulation approach," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-143, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    16. Mary, Sebastien, 2022. "Dams mitigate the effect of rainfall shocks on Hindus-Muslims riots," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    17. Scognamillo, Antonio & Sitko, Nicholas J., 2021. "Leveraging social protection to advance climate-smart agriculture: An empirical analysis of the impacts of Malawi’s Social Action Fund (MASAF) on farmers’ adoption decisions and welfare outcomes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).

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