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Social protection, household size and its determinants: Evidence from Ethiopia

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  • Hoddinott, John F.
  • Mekasha, Tseday J.

Abstract

We examine the impact of a social protection program, Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), on household size and the factors that cause household size to change: fertility, child fosterage, and in and out migration related to work and marriage. Participation in the PSNP leads to an increase in household size of 0.3 members. PSNP participation lowers fertility by 7.6 to 9.9 percentage points. The increase in household size arises from an increase in the number of girls aged 12 to 18 years. We present suggestive evidence that this occurs because the PSNP causes households to delay marrying out adolescent females.

Suggested Citation

  • Hoddinott, John F. & Mekasha, Tseday J., 2017. "Social protection, household size and its determinants: Evidence from Ethiopia," ESSP working papers 107, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    • Handle: RePEc:fpr:esspwp:107
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    Cited by:

    1. Jules Gazeaud & Victor Stephane, 2023. "Productive Workfare? Evidence from Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(1), pages 265-290, January.
    2. 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.
    3. Melissa Hidrobo & Valerie Mueller & Shalini Roy, 2022. "Cash transfers, migration, and gender norms," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(2), pages 550-568, March.
    4. Rachel Sabates‐Wheeler & Jeremy Lind & John Hoddinott & Mulugeta Tefera Taye, 2021. "Graduation after 10 years of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme: Surviving but still not thriving," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 39(4), pages 511-531, July.
    5. Silvio Daidone & Francisco Pereira Fontes, 2023. "The role of social protection in mitigating the effects of rainfall shocks. Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 315-332, December.
    6. David Mmopelwa, 2019. "Household size, birth order and child health in Botswana," Discussion Papers 2019-10, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.

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    Keywords

    fertility; marriage; sociology;
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