Parker investigates impact of CCTs
An article by Faculty Associate Susan W. Parker and Petra E. Todd in the September 2017 issue of the Journal of Economic Literature examines Contitional Cash Transfer programs modeled on a Mexican program started in 1997.
The abstract states, "Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs innovate by conditioning transfers to poor families on investments in the human capital of children and other family members. The Mexican CCT program Progresa / Oportunidades began in 1997 and has served as a model for many of the now over 60 countries with CCTs around the world, in large part due to its initial evaluation with an experimental design and numerous follow-up studies. This article reviews the literature on the development, evaluation, and findings of Progresa/Oportunidades, summarizing what is known about program effects, taking into account corrections for multiple-hypothesis testing."
They authors conclude, "On balance, the available evidence suggests that Progresa / Oportunidades is an effective program that alleviates poverty and creates few negative incentive effects. Much of the existing evidence, however, uses the data from the initial rural experiment and focuses on impacts during the first few years of the program. Progresa / Oportunidades has now been operating for a decade and a half. Future research should thus be devoted to studying the longer-term impacts of the program and its intergenerational impacts."
Citation : Parker, Susan W., and Petra E. Todd. 2017. "Conditional Cash Transfers: The Case of Progresa/Oportunidades." Journal of Economic Literature, 55(3): 866-915.