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The impacts of cash transfers on women?s empowerment : learning from Pakistan?s BISP program

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  • Ambler, Kate
  • De Brauw,Alan

Abstract

Large-scale government cash transfer programs have become an important element of social protection and poverty reduction strategies throughout the developing world. Pakistan is no exception; in 2008, Pakistan established the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) as an unconditional cash transfer targeted at the poorest of the poor. The primary goal of the BISP program is to provide the poorest households in Pakistan with unconditional transfers in order to improve their consumption and investments in children. To attain this goal, it is believed important that the transfers are provided directly to women to ensure the funds are spent as intended. Beyond changes in consumption and investment, directing these transfers to women can also serve to empower women by increasing household resources under their control. We analyze the impacts of Pakistan?s BISP program on women?s decision-making power within households using data collected between 2011 and 2013 as the program was rolling out. Using fuzzy regression discontinuity methods to statistically identify impacts, the BISP transfer is found to have substantial, positive impacts on some variables measuring women?s decision-making power and empowerment.

Suggested Citation

  • Ambler, Kate & De Brauw,Alan, 2017. "The impacts of cash transfers on women?s empowerment : learning from Pakistan?s BISP program," Policy Research Working Paper Series 113161, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:113161
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alan de Brauw & Amber Peterman, 2020. "Can conditional cash transfers improve maternal health care? Evidence from El Salvador's Comunidades Solidarias Rurales program," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 700-715, June.
    2. Alvi, Muzna & Ward, Patrick & Makhija, Simrin & Spielman, David J., 2023. "Do grassroots interventions relax behavioural constraints and improve adoption of nutrition-sensitive food production systems?," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 68(01), September.
    3. Harris-Fry, Helen & Saville, Naomi M. & Paudel, Puskar & Manandhar, Dharma S. & Cortina-Borja, Mario & Skordis, Jolene, 2022. "Relative power: Explaining the effects of food and cash transfers on allocative behaviour in rural Nepalese households," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    4. 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).
    5. Etienne Lwamba & Shannon Shisler & Will Ridlehoover & Meital Kupfer & Nkululeko Tshabalala & Promise Nduku & Laurenz Langer & Sean Grant & Ada Sonnenfeld & Daniela Anda & John Eyers & Birte Snilstveit, 2022. "Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(1), March.
    6. Muhammad Tariq & Aneesa & Farah Khan, 2019. "The Effects of Social Protection Program on Food Consumption and Poverty in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan," Business & Economic Review, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan, vol. 11(1), pages 55-82, March.
    7. Nawaz, Saima & Iqbal, Nasir, 2020. "The impact of unconditional cash transfer on fuel choices among ultra-poor in Pakistan: Quasi-experimental evidence from the Benazir Income Support Program," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    8. Tehmeena Iqbal & Shujaat Farooq & Ihtsham Ul Haq Padda, 2021. "Can Empowerment be Enhanced by Putting Cash in the Hands of Poor Women? Learning from Pakistan’s BISP Program," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(3), pages 760-792, June.
    9. Balasubramanian, Pooja & Ibanez, Marcela & Khan, Sarah & Sahoo, Soham, 2024. "Does women's economic empowerment promote human development in low- and middle-income countries? A meta-analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    10. Yashodhan Ghorpade & Patricia Justino, 2019. "Winning or buying hearts and minds?: Cash transfers and political attitudes in Pakistan," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-91, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    11. Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Iqbal, Nasir & Nawaz, Saima & Yew, Siew Ling, 2021. "Unconditional cash transfers, child labour and education: theory and evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 437-457.
    12. Barr, Nicholas, 2019. "Gender and family: conceptual overview," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101237, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    13. Simona Helmsmüller & Andreas Landmann, 2022. "Does free hospitalization insurance change health care consumption of the poor? Short-term evidence from Pakistan," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 47(1), pages 238-275, March.

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