Can Conditional Cash Transfers Compensate for a Father's Absence?

Fitzsimons, Emla; Mesnard, Alice

Can Conditional Cash Transfers Compensate for a Father's Absence?

Autores

Fitzsimons, Emla

Mesnard, Alice

Editor

World Bank, Washington, DC

Descripción

This paper investigates how the permanent departure of the father from a household affects children's school enrollment and work participation in rural Colombia. The results indicate that the permanent departure of the father decreases children's school enrollment by approximately 5 percentage points and increases child labor by 3 percentage points. This paper explores the rollout of a conditional-cash-transfer program during the period of study and shows that this program counteracts these adverse effects. When coupled with other evidence, this finding strongly suggests that the channel through which the father's departure most affects children is by reducing the income of very poor households, which tightens their liquidity constraints. This finding also highlights the important safety-net role played by welfare programs with respect to disadvantaged households, particularly because these households are unlikely to have formal or informal mechanisms with which to insure themselves against such vagaries.

Palabras clave

ACCOUNT, ADOLESCENTS, ADULT MORTALITY, ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES, ADVERSE EFFECTS, ATTRITION, BARGAINING, BARGAINING POWER, BASIC EDUCATION, CAPACITY BUILDING, CHILD EDUCATION, CHILD LABOR, CHILD LABOUR, CITIZENS, COMPULSORY EDUCATION, COMPULSORY SCHOOLING, CULTURAL CHANGE, DECEASED FATHER, DECISION MAKING, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT POLICY, DIVORCE, EARLY CHILDHOOD, EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT, EARLY DEATH, ECONOMIC GROWTH, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES, ENROLLMENT, ENROLLMENT DATA, ENROLLMENT RATE, EXTENDED FAMILY, FAMILY COMPOSITION, FAMILY INCOME, FAMILY LIFE, FAMILY STRUCTURE, FINANCIAL MARKETS, FORMAL EDUCATION, GIRLS, GOVERNMENT SUPPORT, HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE, HIV, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, HUMAN CAPITAL, IFS, ILLNESS, ILLNESSES, IMPACT OF MIGRATION, IMPACT ON CHILDREN, IMPORTANT POLICY, INCOME, INSURANCE, INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INVESTMENT IN CHILDREN, INVESTMENTS IN EDUCATION, JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE, LABOR ECONOMICS, LABOR MARKET, LABOR SUPPLY, LABOUR, LAM, LEVELS OF EDUCATION, MARITAL STATUS, MARKET FAILURES, MIGRATION, MORTALITY, MOTHER, NATURAL DISASTERS, NUMBER OF ADULTS, NUMBER OF CHILDREN, NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS, NUTRITION, ORPHANHOOD, ORPHANS, PARENTAL DEATH, PARTICIPATION RATES, POLICY DISCUSSIONS, POLICY IMPLICATIONS, POLICY RESEARCH, POLICY RESEARCH WORKING PAPER, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRIMARY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, PRIMARY SCHOOL PARTICIPATION, PROGRESS, RESPECT, RURAL AREAS, SAFETY, SAFETY NET, SAFETY NETS, SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, SCHOOL ENROLMENT, SCHOOL SYSTEM, SCHOOLING, SECONDARY SCHOOL, SEX, SINGLE-PARENT HOUSEHOLDS, SOCIAL PROTECTION, SOCIAL SAFETY, SPOUSE, UNEMPLOYMENT, URBAN AREAS, VIOLENCE, VULNERABILITY, YOUNG CHILDREN