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Productive Impact of Ethiopia’s Social Cash Transfer Pilot Programme

A From Protection to Production (PtoP) report

Year of publication 2016

Pages 69 p.

Author Asfaw, S.;Pickmans, R.;Alfani, F.;Davis, B.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Document

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) This report uses data from a two-year impact evaluation to analyse the impact of the Ethiopia Social Cash Transfer Pilot Programme (SCTPP) on household behaviour and decision-making, including agricultural production and other income-generating activities, labour supply, the accumulation of productive assets, access to credit and food security. The general framework for empirical analysis is based on a comparison of programme beneficiaries with a group of controls interviewed in 2012 and again t wo years later, using difference-in-difference (or double difference) estimators combined with propensity score matching methods. The findings show that the programme significantly increased household food security and decreased the number of hours children spend on household chores and activities. The programme is also associated with increases in social capital, and subjective well-being. However, the effects of the SCTPP on the accumulation of productive assets and on agricultural production are mixed. The analysis reveals important heterogeneity in programme impacts, with estimated magnitudes varying over geographical area and over gender of the household head.

Language English

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    This report synthesizes the analysis and findings of a set of seven country impact evaluation studies that explore the impact of cash transfer programmes on household economic decision-making, productive activities and labour allocation in sub-Saharan Africa. The seven countries are Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Results from seven recently completed rigorous impact evaluations of government-run unconditional social cash transfer programmes in sub-Saharan Africa s how that these programmes have significant positive impacts on the livelihoods of beneficiary households. In Zambia, the Child Grant programme had large and positive impacts across an array of income generating activities. The impact of the programmes in Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe were more selective in nature, while the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme in Ghana had fewer direct impacts on productive activities, and more on various dimensions of risk management .
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