Publication:
Cash Is Queen: Local Economy Effects of Cash Transfers to Women in West Africa

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dc.contributor.authorPapineni, Sreelakshmi
dc.contributor.authorGonzalez, Paula
dc.contributor.authorGoldstein, Markus
dc.contributor.authorFriedman, Jed
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-06T14:38:20Z
dc.date.available2025-05-06T14:38:20Z
dc.date.issued2025-05-06
dc.description.abstractThis paper examines the direct and spillover effects of cash transfers paid in a rural and low-income setting. In the short run, an unconditional cash transfer program for ultra-poor households in Northern Nigeria led to a 12 percentage point increase in micro-enterprise formation for program recipients. Moreover, benefits continued to increase in magnitude after program cessation and also extended to nearby non-beneficiary households when compared to counterparts in other villages where no cash transfers were paid. One year after program cessation, beneficiary women increased their enterprise ownership rate by 20 percentage points, while the rate for non-beneficiary women increased by 13 percentage points. Both groups of households enjoyed higher consumption and food security, and shifted away from husband-centered toward joint intrahousehold decision-making. One mechanism for this growth spillover is a boost to aggregate demand for local goods, in part identified by the positive link between the (randomly determined) neighborhood density of cash transfer households and enterprise creation. The increase in local female entrepreneurial activity translates to a partial income multiplier of at least 0.32. Women face restrictive social norms around work in this context and the slack productive resource brought into activity by the cash transfer is female labor, specifically female-led entrepreneurship near the home.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099209105052527084
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-11112
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/43161
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper; 11112
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectCASH TRANSFERS
dc.subjectGENDER
dc.subjectGENERAL EQUILIBRIUM EFFECTS
dc.subjectSPILLOVERS AND ENTERPRISES
dc.titleCash Is Queenen
dc.title.subtitleLocal Economy Effects of Cash Transfers to Women in West Africaen
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.associatedcontenthttps://reproducibility.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/270 Link to reproducibility package
okr.date.disclosure2025-05-06
okr.date.doiregistration2025-05-08T06:32:52.478767Z
okr.date.lastmodified2025-05-06T13:05:01Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099209105052527084
okr.guid099209105052527084
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-172cd481-ec32-47d0-a1d3-1a3f658485f8
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-11112
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum40010848
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum40010848
okr.identifier.reportWPS11112
okr.import.id7304
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttps://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099209105052527084/pdf/IDU-172cd481-ec32-47d0-a1d3-1a3f658485f8.pdfen
okr.region.geographicalWest Africa
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Microfinance
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Pensions & Retirement Systems
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Social Funds and Pensions
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Social Protections & Assistance
okr.topicScience and Technology Development::Technology Innovation
okr.unitAFEGI - Gender Impact Evaluation; DECPH
relation.isAuthorOfPublication442e6ddc-d567-5db8-8fea-62f71781ad6a
relation.isAuthorOfPublication5b6f36d3-c0a4-5a3a-b01c-d543e4573c19
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery442e6ddc-d567-5db8-8fea-62f71781ad6a
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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