Cash Transfer Programs and Household Labor Supply

By:	Daniela Del Boca; Chiara Pronzato; Giuseppe Sorrenti
Abstract:	Employment contributes to reduce the risk of poverty. Through a randomized controlled trial, we evaluate the impact of a conditional cash transfer program (CCT) to low-income families with dependent children on household members’ labor supply. The attendance of labor-market-oriented mentoring courses constitutes the condition to obtain the transfer. One year after admission to the program, fathers assigned to the CCT program are more likely to work (+14 percent) than fathers assigned to an unconditional cash transfer program or to a pure control group. No effect arises for mothers. Increased paternal investments in activities enhancing labor market opportunities and improved family networks seem to explain the results.
Keywords:	conditional cash transfers, poverty, household labor supply, mentoring courses
JEL:	I10 I20 J24 I31
Date:	2020
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8247&r=ltv