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Smarter through Social Protection? Evaluating the Impact of Ethiopia's Safety-Net on Child Cognitive Abilities

Author

Listed:
  • Favara, Marta

    (University of Oxford)

  • Porter, Catherine

    (Lancaster University)

  • Woldehanna, Tassew

    (University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Abstract

We provide new estimates of the impact of Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) in Ethiopia on child cognitive achievement in the medium term. The programme is the second largest in Africa, and has been rolled out to almost 10 million beneficiaries since 2005. We exploit four rounds of the Young Lives panel data spanning 2002-2013. We find a small but significant effect of the programme on cognitive achievement as measured by numeracy skills. We examine heterogeneity of impacts via "graduation" from the scheme, and find a positive effect on children in households that graduated just before 2013, but none for children in households that remain in the programme.

Suggested Citation

  • Favara, Marta & Porter, Catherine & Woldehanna, Tassew, 2017. "Smarter through Social Protection? Evaluating the Impact of Ethiopia's Safety-Net on Child Cognitive Abilities," IZA Discussion Papers 10972, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10972
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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. Porter, Catherine, 2024. "Reprioritising inclusion and equity to meet SDG4: Action is needed beyond the education sector – and must begin before school entry," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    3. Hotak, Nematullah & Kaneko, Shinji, 2022. "Fiscal illusion of the stated preferences of government officials regarding interministerial policy packages: A case study on child labor in Afghanistan," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 285-298.
    4. Jeffery, Karli & Chatterjee, Ishita & Lavin, Tina & Li, Ian W., 2020. "Young lives and wealthy minds: The nexus between household consumption capacity and childhood cognitive ability," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 89-104.
    5. Richard Freund & Marta Favara & Catherine Porter & Jere Behrman, 2024. "Social Protection and Foundational Cognitive Skills during Adolescence: Evidence from a Large Public Works Program," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 38(2), pages 296-318.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    children; social protection; Ethiopia; cognitive development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • O22 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - Project Analysis

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