Publication: Are Cash Transfers Better Chunky or Smooth?: Evidence from an Impact Evaluation of a Cash Transfer Program in Northern Nigeria
Loading...
Date
2017
ISSN
Published
2017
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Women receiving unconditional cash transfers in northern Nigeria worked more, particularly, in their own businesses, spent more on consumption, were more food secure, saved more, bought more animals and improved their housing compared to the women in the control group. Quarterly transfers cost half as much as monthly transfers to administer, but there is no difference in outcomes. Women’s ability to control the cash transfers is the same under a quarterly payment scheme and monthly payment scheme. Women use cash transfers to increase investment in their own business activities. Cash transfer recipients were not only more likely to be involved in their own non-farm business but they also spent more on business inputs and increased their business profits. Their husbands remained active farmers and didn’t change their business activities. The lab aims to do this by producing and delivering a new body of evidence and developing a compelling narrative, geared towards policymakers, on what works and what does not work in promoting gender equality.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Bastian, Gautam; Goldstein, Markus; Papineni, Sreelakshmi. 2017. Are Cash Transfers Better Chunky or Smooth?: Evidence from an Impact Evaluation of a Cash Transfer Program in Northern Nigeria. Gender Innovation Lab Policy Brief;No. 21. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28434 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Gender Lens(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06)The coronavirus (COVID-19) (coronavirus) pandemic has led to disruptions of both social and economic activities across the globe. While the early narrative described COVID-19 (coronavirus) as the "great equalizer," asserting that the virus is capable of infecting anyone, it is critical for policymakers to understand that the impacts of COVID-19 (coronavirus) will not be the same for everyone. Experience from previous epidemics suggest that COVID-19 (coronavirus) will impact groups who are most vulnerable and amplify any existing inequalities across countries, communities, households and individuals. This note focuses on the existing gender inequalities in the economic sphere in Sub-Saharan Africa and summarizes how the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic could affect women and girls disproportionately. It draws on impact evaluation research to showcase policy options to help build women's economic resilience and minimize any potential negative impacts during the pandemic and recovery.Publication Are Mobile Savings the Silver Bullet to Help Women Grow Their Businesses?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-09)In Tanzania and Indonesia, we promoted the expansion of mobile savings accounts among women micro-entrepreneurs and provided them with business related training. In doing so, we simultaneously relaxed supply- and demand side constraints to savings that women might face. In both countries, the training enhanced the impact of promoting mobile savings. In Indonesia it led women to save more overall, including a nascent use of mobile accounts, and report greater decision making power within the household. In Tanzania, it led to substantially higher mobile savings, new businesses and products, more capital investment, labor effort, and better business practices. However, these short-term impacts have yet to translate into higher business profits. In Indonesia, we observe increased household welfare, but no discernible effects on business outcomes shortly after the training ended. In Tanzania, the increased business investments were not accompanied by greater profitability.Publication Business Training and Mentoring(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-02)Recent research shows that microenterprises in developing countries are constrained by their managerial capacity, especially in the areas of marketing, record keeping, financial planning, and stock control. In a stratified randomized controlled trial, experienced businesswomen in Ethiopia were given a formal business training that addressed these constraints. A second-stage mentoring component in which a random selection of female mentees within the social and business network of the trainees from the first-stage business training received customized mentoring from these “trained mentors.” Pooled results using three rounds of post-training surveys carried out over three years show that business training causes profit and sales to improve by 0.21 standard deviation, while business practices improve by 0.13 standard deviation. The overall impact of mentoring is muted—strong impacts are observed on the adoption of business practices among mentees, but there is no statistically significant impact on profits.Publication Evening the Credit Score? Impact of Psychometric Loan Appraisal for Women Entrepreneurs(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)Women’s lower rates of ownership of collateralizable assets are a constraint to accessing larger business loans. This paper tests the impact of using psychometric credit scoring as a substitute for collateral for loans up to US$7,500, via a randomized controlled trial with a microfinance institution in Ethiopia. The paper finds positive impacts on women’s access to credit, and survival of their firms during the COVID-19 pandemic and conflict. Firms that remained operational were profitable; but there is limited evidence of impact on firm growth under these circumstances. The study showcases the potential for using innovative technologies to extend entrepreneurial finance to underserved markets.Publication Breadwinners and Caregivers(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-02-01)Gender norms are often emphasized to help explain gender gaps in the labor market. This paper examines global patterns of gender attitudes and norms toward the stereotypical gender roles of the male breadwinner and female caregiver, and broad support for gender equality in opportunities, and studies their relationship with economic behavior. Using data collected via Facebook from 150,000 individuals across 111 countries the paper explores how gender beliefs and norms are related to labor supply, household production, and intrahousehold decision-making power within a country. The paper provides descriptive evidence that the more gender equitable or counter-stereotypical are beliefs and norms, the more likely women are to work, the more time men spend on household chores, and the higher the likelihood of joint decision-making among couples. The findings suggest an underestimation of the support for gender equality globally and the extent of underestimation varies by gender and region. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential entry points for policy to help address gender norms.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-11)After several years of negative shocks, global growth is expected to hold steady in 2024 and then edge up in the next couple of years, in part aided by cautious monetary policy easing as inflation gradually declines. However, economic prospects are envisaged to remain tepid, especially in the most vulnerable countries. Risks to the outlook, while more balanced, are still tilted to the downside, including the possibility of escalating geopolitical tensions, further trade fragmentation, and higher-for-longer interest rates. Natural disasters related to climate change could also hinder activity. Subdued growth prospects across many emerging market and developing economies and continued risks underscore the need for decisive policy action at the global and national levels. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). Each edition includes analytical pieces on topical policy challenges faced by these economies.Publication Taking Stock August 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-08-26)Viet Nam’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.4 percent (y/y) in H1-2024 after a moderate 5 percent growth in 2023, boosted by a rebound in manufacturing exports as well as higher consumption and investment. On the production side, manufacturing, export-oriented services, and tourism posted robust growth. Despite recovering, consumer spending remained below pre-pandemic rates. Private investment growth accelerated in H1-2024 but remained below pre- Coronavirus (COVID) levels. The current account registered a substantial surplus, driven by a robust trade performance. However, a continued interest rate differential and strengthening US dollar in H1-2024 increased unrecorded capital outflows leading to a negative external position. The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) responded to emerging exchange rate pressures through a combination of gradual devaluation, foreign exchange (FX) interventions, and tighter liquidity. The gradual rebalancing of Viet Nam’s financial system towards a more prominent role of capital markets remains an important agenda, as discussed further in this edition’s special topic chapter.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication The Impact of Climate Change on Education and What to Do about It(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-02)Education can be the key to ending poverty in a livable planet, but governments must act now to protect it. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as cyclones, floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires. These extreme weather events are in turn disrupting schooling; precipitating learning losses, dropouts, and long-term impacts. Even if the most drastic climate mitigation strategies were implemented, extreme weather events will continue to have detrimental impacts on education outcomes.