Relative Effectiveness of Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfers for Schooling Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This Campbell systematic review assesses the effects of conditional and unconditional cash transfer programmes on education outcomes in low‐ and middle‐income countries. The review summarizes findings from 35 studies. Both conditional and unconditional cash transfer programmes increase enrolment compared to no program. But they have at best a small effect on learning outcomes, although the evidence base on learning is small. Cash transfers have a larger effect on enrolment if there are conditions that are strictly monitored and enforced. Programs that are explicitly conditional, monitor compliance and penalize non‐compliance have substantively larger effects – increasing the odds of enrolment by 60% compared to less than 20% for programs with no conditions. Executive summary BACKGROUNDIncreasing educational attainment around the world is one of the key aims of the Millennium Development Goals. Cash transfer programs, both conditional and unconditional, are a popular social protection tool in developing countries that aim, among other things, to improve education outcomes in developing countries. The debate over whether these programs should include conditions has been at the forefront of recent global policy discussions. This systematic review aims to complement the existing evidence on the effectiveness of these programs in improving schooling outcomes and help inform the debate surrounding the design of cash transfer programs. OBJECTIVESOur main objective was to assess the relative effectiveness of conditional and unconditional cash transfers in improving enrollment, attendance and test scores in developing countries. Our secondary objective was to understand the role of different dimensions of the cash transfer programs, particularly the role of the intensity of conditions and the effects of priming (with respect to the importance of children's schooling) in cash transfer programs. SEARCH STRATEGYFive main strategies were used to identify relevant reports: (1) Electronic searches of 37 international databases (concluded on 18 April 2012), (2) contacted researchers working in the area, (3) hand searched key journals, (4) reviewed websites of relevant organizations, and (5) given the year delay between the original search and the final edits of the review we updated our references with all new eligible references the study team was aware of as of 30 April 2013. SELECTION CRITERIATo be eligible for this review, studies had to either assess the impact of a conditional cash transfer program (CCT), with at least one condition explicitly related to schooling, or evaluate an unconditional cash transfer program (UCT). The report had to include at least one quantifiable measure of enrollment, attendance or test scores. The report had to be published after 1997, utilize a randomized control trial or a quasi‐experimental design, and take place in a developing country. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSISA data extraction sheet was constructed to collect data on impacts and characteristics of the report and intervention. Enrollmen...

Conditional, unconditional and everything in between: a systematic review of the effects of cash transfer programmes on schooling outcomes

“…2. Baird et al (2013) presents the full systematic review from which this article is drawn. This systematic review can be found at http://www.campbellcollaboration.org/lib/project/218/ 3.…”

A School Support Intervention and Educational Outcomes Among Orphaned Adolescents: Results of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Kenya

“…For CCTs aimed at improving educational outcomes, students must meet certain school enrollment or attendance criteria in order to receive the funding. This funding then typically is provided directly to the student or to his or her household (Baird et al, 2013; 2014) rather than being specifically earmarked for education.…”

“…Baird et al (2013; 2014) recently conducted a systematic review of published and unpublished evaluations of cash transfer programs with respect to schooling outcomes and the findings suggest that such programs increase adolescents’ likelihood of staying in school. Below we present findings of experimental evaluations of CCTs or school support interventions that are specific to educational outcomes in SSA.…”

Heterogeneous Impacts of an Unconditional CashTransfer Programme on Schooling

“…A recent systematic review comparing schooling impacts of CCTs versus UCTs found that both CCTs and UCTs improve the likelihood of being enrolled in and attending school, with no significant difference between the size of the impacts, but when programmes were qualitatively classified according to their enforcement of conditions, larger impacts emerged among CCTs (Baird, Ferreira, Özler, & Woolcock, 2013). This same review identified only five studies investigating the impact of a UCT on schooling, compared to 26 studies on the impacts of CCTs.…”