IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v115y2019icp258-268.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Causal pathways of the productive impacts of cash transfers: Experimental evidence from Lesotho

Author

Listed:
  • Prifti, Ervin
  • Daidone, Silvio
  • Davis, Benjamin

Abstract

This paper has the double aim to study whether unconditional cash transfers have an impact on farm production and to look into the causal mechanisms through which government transfers produce productive impacts. We use mediation analysis to identify the total effect of transfers on farm production and to isolate the influence of the labour channel from other transmission channels. In particular, we analyze whether changes in farm production are caused by transfer-induced changes in the use of farm labour – either by reallocating family labour between off- and on-farm work or by changes in the demand for hired labour – or if other transmission channels are at work. We find that cash transfers have a sizable impact on farm production but they do not lead to increased use of family or hired labour on the farm, which implies that the productive impacts of cash transfers flow through other channels, different from the labour one.

Suggested Citation

  • Prifti, Ervin & Daidone, Silvio & Davis, Benjamin, 2019. "Causal pathways of the productive impacts of cash transfers: Experimental evidence from Lesotho," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 258-268.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:115:y:2019:i:c:p:258-268
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.11.020
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X18304261
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.11.020?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James J. Heckman & Rodrigo Pinto, 2015. "Econometric Mediation Analyses: Identifying the Sources of Treatment Effects from Experimentally Estimated Production Technologies with Unmeasured and Mismeasured Inputs," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(1-2), pages 6-31, February.
    2. T. Paul Schultz, 1999. "Women's Role in the Agricultural Household: Bargaining and Human Capital," Working Papers 803, Economic Growth Center, Yale University.
    3. Bazzi, Samuel & Sumarto, Sudarno & Suryahadi, Asep, 2015. "It's all in the timing: Cash transfers and consumption smoothing in a developing country," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 267-288.
    4. Martin Huber, 2014. "Identifying Causal Mechanisms (Primarily) Based On Inverse Probability Weighting," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 920-943, September.
    5. Dean Karlan & Robert Osei & Isaac Osei-Akoto & Christopher Udry, 2014. "Agricultural Decisions after Relaxing Credit and Risk Constraints," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(2), pages 597-652.
    6. Teresa Serra & David Zilberman & Barry K. Goodwin & Allen Featherstone, 2006. "Effects of decoupling on the mean and variability of output," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 33(3), pages 269-288, September.
    7. Euan Phimister, 1995. "Farm Consumption Behavior in the Presence of Uncertainty and Restrictions on Credit," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 77(4), pages 952-959.
    8. Prifti Ervin & Estruch Elisenda & Daidone Silvio & Davis Benjamin & Van Ufford Paul & Michelo Stanfeld & Handa Sudhanshu & Seidenfeld David & Tembo Gelson, 2017. "Learning About Labour Impacts of Cash Transfers in Zambia," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 26(4), pages 433-442.
    9. Martin Huber, 2015. "Causal Pitfalls in the Decomposition of Wage Gaps," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 179-191, April.
    10. Markus Frölich & Martin Huber, 2017. "Direct and indirect treatment effects–causal chains and mediation analysis with instrumental variables," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series B, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 79(5), pages 1645-1666, November.
    11. Sadoulet, Elisabeth & de Janvry, Alain & Benjamin, Catherine, 1996. "Household Behavior With Imperfect Labor Markets," CUDARE Working Papers 25044, University of California, Berkeley, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    12. repec:dau:papers:123456789/5380 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Solomon Asfaw & Benjamin Davis & Josh Dewbre & Sudhanshu Handa & Paul Winters, 2014. "Cash Transfer Programme, Productive Activities and Labour Supply: Evidence from a Randomised Experiment in Kenya," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(8), pages 1172-1196, August.
    14. Matteo Bobba, 2013. "Liquidity, Risk, and Occupational Choices," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 80(2), pages 491-511.
    15. David A. Hennessy, 1998. "The Production Effects of Agricultural Income Support Policies under Uncertainty," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 80(1), pages 46-57.
    16. Fink, Günther & Jack, Kelsey & Masiye, Felix, 2014. "Seasonal Credit Constraints and Agricultural Labor Supply: Evidence from Zambia," IZA Discussion Papers 8657, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Dillon, Brian & Barrett, Christopher B., 2017. "Agricultural factor markets in Sub-Saharan Africa: An updated view with formal tests for market failure," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 64-77.
    18. Benjamin Davis & Paul Winters & Thomas Reardon & Kostas Stamoulis, 2009. "Rural nonfarm employment and farming: household‐level linkages," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(2), pages 119-123, March.
    19. Martin Huber, 2016. "Disentangling policy effects into causal channels," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 259-259, May.
    20. Ryan Boone & Katia Covarrubias & Benjamin Davis & Paul Winters, 2013. "Cash transfer programs and agricultural production: the case of Malawi," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 44(3), pages 365-378, May.
    21. Smith, W. James & Mistiaen, Emma & Guven, Melis & Morojele, Morabo, 2013. "Lesotho : a safety net to end extreme poverty," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 88999, The World Bank.
    22. Martin Huber & Michael Lechner & Giovanni Mellace, 2017. "Why Do Tougher Caseworkers Increase Employment? The Role of Program Assignment as a Causal Mechanism," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(1), pages 180-183, March.
    23. Jessica Erin Todd & Paul Winters & Tom Hertz, 2010. "Conditional Cash Transfers and Agricultural Production: Lessons from the Oportunidades Experience in Mexico," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(1), pages 39-67.
    24. Jolliffe, Dean, 2004. "The impact of education in rural Ghana: examining household labor allocation and returns on and off the farm," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 287-314, February.
    25. Rulon D. Pope & Richard E. Just, 1991. "On Testing the Structure of Risk Preferences in Agricultural Supply Analysis," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 73(3), pages 743-748.
    26. Lopez, Ramon E., 1984. "Estimating labor supply and production decisions of self-employed farm producers," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 61-82.
    27. Chang, Yang-Ming & Huang, Biing-Wen & Chen, Yun-Ju, 2012. "Labor supply, income, and welfare of the farm household," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 427-437.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xing Ji & Jingwen Xu & Hongxiao Zhang, 2022. "How Does China’s New Rural Pension Scheme Affect Agricultural Production?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-23, July.
    2. Biggeri, Mario & Carraro, Alessandro & Ciani, Federico & Romano, Donato, 2022. "Disentangling the impact of a multiple-component project on SDG dimensions: The case of durum wheat value chain development in Oromia (Ethiopia)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    3. Pace, Noemi & Sebastian, Ashwini & Daidone, Silvio & Prifti, Ervin & Davis, Benjamin, 2022. "Mediation analysis of the impact of the Zimbabwe Harmonized Social Cash Transfer Programme on food security and nutrition," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    4. Fouksman, E. & Klein, E., 2019. "Radical transformation or technological intervention? Two paths for universal basic income," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 492-500.
    5. Mastrorillo, Marina & Scognamillo, Antonio & Ginet, Camille & Pietrelli, Rebecca & d’Errico, Marco & Ignaciuk, Adriana, 2022. "Enhancing refugees’ self-reliance in Uganda – The role of cash and food assistance," ESA Working Papers 324702, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA).
    6. Owusu-Addo, Ebenezer & Renzaho, Andre M.N. & Smith, Ben J., 2020. "Developing a middle-range theory to explain how cash transfers work to tackle the social determinants of health: A realist case study," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    7. Scognamillo, Antonio & Mastrorillo, Marina & Ignaciuk, Adriana, 2024. "One for all and all for one: Increasing the adaptive capacity of households and communities through a public work programme," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    8. Yuliani, Efi & Nasrudin, Rus'an, 2024. "The effects of the Indonesian conditional cash transfer program on transition out of agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    9. Sitko, Nicholas J. & Scognamillo, Antonio & Malevolti, Giulia, 2021. "Does receiving food aid influence the adoption of climate-adaptive agricultural practices? Evidence from Ethiopia and Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    10. Pace, Noemi & Sebastian, Ashwini & Daidone, Silvio & Dela O Campos, Ana Paula & Prifti, Ervin & Davis, Benjamin, 2022. "Cash transfers’ role in improving livelihood diversification strategies and well-being: short- and medium-term evidence from Zimbabwe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Silvio Daidone & Benjamin Davis & Sudhanshu Handa & Paul Winters, 2019. "The Household and Individual-Level Productive Impacts of Cash Transfer Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1401-1431.
    2. Martin Huber & Mark Schelker & Anthony Strittmatter, 2022. "Direct and Indirect Effects based on Changes-in-Changes," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(1), pages 432-443, January.
    3. Kopper, Sarah A., 2018. "Agricultural labor markets and fertilizer demand: Intensification is not a single factor problem for non-separable households," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274184, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Viviana Celli, 2022. "Causal mediation analysis in economics: Objectives, assumptions, models," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 214-234, February.
    5. Prifti, Ervin & Daidone, Silvio & Pace, Noemi & Davis, Benjamin, 2019. "Unconditional cash transfers, risk attitudes and modern inputs demand," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 53, pages 100-118.
    6. Sitko, Nicholas J. & Scognamillo, Antonio & Malevolti, Giulia, 2021. "Does receiving food aid influence the adoption of climate-adaptive agricultural practices? Evidence from Ethiopia and Malawi," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    7. Helmut Farbmacher & Martin Huber & Lukáš Lafférs & Henrika Langen & Martin Spindler, 2022. "Causal mediation analysis with double machine learning [Mediation analysis via potential outcomes models]," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 25(2), pages 277-300.
    8. Wunsch, Conny & Strobl, Renate, 2018. "Identification of Causal Mechanisms Based on Between-Subject Double Randomization Designs," IZA Discussion Papers 11626, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Tekalign Gutu Sakketa & Nicolas Gerber, 2020. "Rural Shadow Wages and Youth Agricultural Labor Supply in Ethiopia: Evidence from Farm Panel Data," Research in Labor Economics, in: Change at Home, in the Labor Market, and On the Job, volume 48, pages 61-105, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    10. Sakketa, Tekalign G. & Kornher, Lukas, 2021. "Unintended Consequences or a Glimmer of Hope? Comparative Impact Analysis of Cash Transfers and Index Insurance on Pastoralists’ Labor Allocation Decisions," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315113, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. Martin Huber & Anna Solovyeva, 2020. "On the Sensitivity of Wage Gap Decompositions," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 1-33, June.
    12. Serra, Teresa & Goodwin, Barry K. & Featherstone, Allen M., 2011. "Risk behavior in the presence of government programs," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 162(1), pages 18-24, May.
    13. Prifti, Ervin & Estruch, Elisenda & Daidone, Silvio & Davis, Benjamin, 2019. "How much is too much: Does the size of income support transfers affect labor supply?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 179-196.
    14. Scognamillo, Antonio & Mastrorillo, Marina & Ignaciuk, Adriana, 2024. "One for all and all for one: Increasing the adaptive capacity of households and communities through a public work programme," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    15. Moro, Daniele & Sckokai, Paolo, 2013. "The impact of decoupled payments on farm choices: Conceptual and methodological challenges," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 28-38.
    16. Hansen, James & Hellin, Jon & Rosenstock, Todd & Fisher, Eleanor & Cairns, Jill & Stirling, Clare & Lamanna, Christine & van Etten, Jacob & Rose, Alison & Campbell, Bruce, 2019. "Climate risk management and rural poverty reduction," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 28-46.
    17. Kate Ambler & Alan de Brauw & Susan Godlonton, 0. "Cash Transfers and Management Advice for Agriculture: Evidence from Senegal," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 34(3), pages 597-617.
    18. Wagener, Andreas & Zenker, Juliane, 2018. "Decoupled but not neutral: The effects of stochastic transfers on investment and incomes in rural Thailand," TVSEP Working Papers wp-008, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, Project TVSEP.
    19. Viaggi, Davide & Raggi, Meri & Gomez y Paloma, Sergio, 2011. "Farm-household investment behaviour and the CAP decoupling: Methodological issues in assessing policy impacts," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 127-145, January.
    20. Prabhat Kishore & Pratap S. Birthal, 2024. "The impact of direct benefit transfers for micro-irrigation on farm performance: Evidence from India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(7), pages 17995-18015, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cash transfers; Agricultural production; Mediation analysis; RCT;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:115:y:2019:i:c:p:258-268. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.