Baird, SarahChirwa, EphraimMcIntosh, CraigOzler, Berk2012-03-192012-03-192009-10-01https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4281Recent evidence suggests that conditional cash transfer programs for schooling are effective in raising school enrollment and attendance. However, there is also reason to believe that such programs can affect other outcomes, such as the sexual behavior of their young beneficiaries. Zomba Cash Transfer Program is a randomized, ongoing conditional cash transfer intervention targeting young women in Malawi that provides incentives (in the form of school fees and cash transfers) to current schoolgirls and recent dropouts to stay in or return to school. An average offer of US$10/month conditional on satisfactory school attendance plus direct payment of secondary school fees led to significant declines in early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and self-reported sexual activity among program beneficiaries after just one year of program implementation. For program beneficiaries who were out of school at baseline, the probability of getting married and becoming pregnant declined by more than 40 percent and 30 percent, respectively. In addition, the incidence of the onset of sexual activity was 38 percent lower among all program beneficiaries than the control group. Overall, these results suggest that conditional cash transfer programs not only serve as useful tools for improving school attendance, but may also reduce sexual activity, teen pregnancy, and early marriage.CC BY 3.0 IGOADOLESCENTADOLESCENT GIRLSADULT HEALTHADULT MORTALITYADULT POPULATIONAGE COHORTAGEDAIDS EPIDEMICALCOHOLICALCOHOLIC DRINKSATTENDANCE RECORDSBEHAVIOR CHANGECHILD MORTALITYCHILDBEARINGCHURCHESCOMMUNITY HEALTHCONDOMCONDOM USEDEVELOPING COUNTRIESDISSEMINATIONDROPOUTDROPOUT RATEDROPOUT RATESEARLY CHILDHOODEARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENTEARLY MARRIAGEEDUCATIONAL ACCESSEDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTEDUCATIONAL OUTCOMESENROLLMENT RATESEXAMEXAMSFAMILY BACKGROUNDFAMILY PLANNINGFEMALESFERTILITYFIRST MARRIAGEGENDER GAPGIRLS IN SCHOOLGLOBAL AIDS EPIDEMICGLOBAL DEVELOPMENTHEALTH FACILITIESHIVHIV INFECTIONHIV PREVENTIONHIV/AIDSHOUSEHOLD ASSETSHOUSEHOLD SIZEHUMAN CAPITALINDEXESINTERVENTIONSJOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGYJUNIOR CERTIFICATELABOR MARKETLEARNINGLITERACYLIVING STANDARDSLOW EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENTLOW ENROLLMENT RATESMARITAL STATUSMOTHERMULTIPLE PARTNERSNATIONAL EXAMINATIONSNATIONAL HEALTHNUMBER OF DROPOUTSOLDER PARTNERSPOLICY RESEARCHPOLICY RESEARCH DIVISIONPOLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPERPOOR PEOPLEPOPULATION COUNCILPREGNANCIESPREVALENCEPRIMARY LEVELPRIMARY SCHOOLPRIMARY SCHOOLSPRIVATE SCHOOLSPUBLIC SCHOOLPUBLIC SCHOOLSRESPECTRISK BEHAVIORSRISK FACTORSRISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIORRISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIORSRURAL AREASRURAL COMMUNITIESSAFETY NETSSCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMSCHOOL ATTENDANCESCHOOL CENSUSSCHOOL DROPOUTSCHOOL DROPOUTSSCHOOL ENROLLMENTSCHOOL FEESCHOOL FEESSCHOOL GIRLSSCHOOL RECORDSSCHOOL UNIFORMSSCHOOL YEARSCHOOL-AGESCHOOL-AGE GIRLSSCHOOLINGSECONDARY SCHOOLSECONDARY SCHOOLSSEXSEX FOR MONEYSEX WORKSEXUAL ACTIVITIESSEXUAL ACTIVITYSEXUAL BEHAVIORSEXUAL INTERCOURSESEXUAL PARTNERSEXUAL PARTNERSSEXUALLY ACTIVESPILLOVERSTDSUBSISTENCE FARMINGTEENTEEN PREGNANCYTEENAGE PREGNANCYTEXTBOOKSTRANSPORTATIONTREATMENTTUITIONURBAN AREASURBAN CENTERVACCINEVICTIMSVIOLENCEVULNERABILITYWOMANYOUNG ADULTSYOUNG PEOPLEYOUNG WOMANYOUNG WOMENMicrodata SetWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-5089