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Do Conditional Cash Transfers Lead to Better Secondary Schools? Evidence from Jamaica’s PATH

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  • Stampini, Marco
  • Martinez-Cordova, Sofia
  • Insfran, Sebastian
  • Harris, Donna

Abstract

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have become the main anti-poverty program in many Latin American and Caribbean countries. While numerous rigorous impact evaluations have shown that they have been successful in increasing school enrollment and attendance, the evidence on learning achievement is still mixed, and there are no studies that analyze the effect on school placement. In this paper, we explore the hypothesis that the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), Jamaica’s CCT program, contributes to breaking the intergenerational poverty cycle by placing its urban beneficiaries on a higher educational trajectory. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find that PATH urban male beneficiaries who sat the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) over the period 2010–14 performed better on the test (scoring 22.48 points, or 5.1%, higher than non-beneficiaries); consequently, they were placed in better secondary schools (7.2 percentiles higher in a national school ranking based on preprogram GSAT scores). In contrast, we find no significant impact on aspirations or on any outcome indicators for urban girls. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first in the literature to take a comprehensive look at the impacts of a CCT program on educational aspirations, school performance, and placement.

Suggested Citation

  • Stampini, Marco & Martinez-Cordova, Sofia & Insfran, Sebastian & Harris, Donna, 2018. "Do Conditional Cash Transfers Lead to Better Secondary Schools? Evidence from Jamaica’s PATH," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 104-118.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:101:y:2018:i:c:p:104-118
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.08.015
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    Cited by:

    1. Beuermann, Diether & Ramos Bonilla, Andrea & Stampini, Marco, 2024. "Can Conditional Cash Transfers Alter the Effectiveness of Other Human Capital Development Policies?," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 13484, Inter-American Development Bank.
    2. Bratti, Massimiliano & Conti, Maurizio & Sulis, Giovanni, 2018. "Employment Protection, Temporary Contracts and Firm-Provided Training: Evidence from Italy," IZA Discussion Papers 11339, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. 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.
    4. Oconnor, Christopher, 2024. "Do conditional cash transfers create resilience against poverty? Long-run evidence from Jamaica," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    5. Xuan Huo & Huawei Han & Qin Gao, 2023. "Does Welfare Participation Affect Adolescent Educational Aspiration? Evidence from Panel Data in China," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 16(3), pages 1171-1202, June.

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