Cash Transfers

In response to the Covid-19 crisis, 186 countries implemented direct cash transfers to households, and 181 introduced in-kind programs that lowered the cost of utilities such as electricity, water, transport, and mobile money.

We study the longer-term (5-7 year) enterprise effects of a large-scale, randomised unconditional cash transfer programme in Kenya, which can provide important insights into enterprise responses to redistribution and social protection programmes.

We document capital contributions from workers to their employers in a representative sample of small firms.

Tracing out the effect of large economic stimuli on the pattern of transactions in an integrated economy, and their aggregate implications, has long been a central goal of economic analysis, but until now has not been studied experimentally.

Humanitarian programming in fragile economies often use unconditional cash transfers (UCT) to offset food-insecurity.

Targeting is a core element of anti-poverty program design, with benefits typically targeted to those most “deprived” in some sense (e.g., consumption, wealth).

In a field experiment in Uganda, mothers of young children are randomly offered a childcare subsidy, an equivalent cash grant, both or nothing.

How can unconditional cash transfers (UCT) be leveraged to boost household incomes beyond addressing short-term food insecurity in a prolonged humanitarian crisis setting?