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. 2016 Oct;29(4):1083-1111.
doi: 10.1007/s00148-016-0596-x. Epub 2016 Apr 29.

Unconditional Government Social Cash Transfer in Africa Does not Increase Fertility

Tia Palermo  1 , Sudhanshu Handa  1   2 , Amber Peterman  1 , Leah Prencipe  1 , David Seidenfeld  3
Affiliations

Unconditional Government Social Cash Transfer in Africa Does not Increase Fertility

Tia Palermo et al. J Popul Econ. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Among policymakers, a common perception surrounding the effects of cash transfer programmes, particularly unconditional programmes targeted to households with children, is that they induce increased fertility. We evaluate the Zambian Child Grant Programme, a government unconditional cash transfer targeted to households with a child under the age of five and examine impacts on fertility and household composition. The evaluation was a cluster randomized control trial, with data collected over four years from 2010 to 2014. Our results indicate there are no programme impacts on overall fertility. Our results contribute to a small evidence base demonstrating that there are no unintended incentives related to fertility due to cash transfers.

Keywords: Africa; Fertility; I1; I3; J1; Zambia; unconditional cash transfers.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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