Assessing the Long-term Effects of Conditional Cash Transfers on Human Capital : Evidence from Colombia

Baez, Javier E.; Camacho, Adriana

Assessing the Long-term Effects of Conditional Cash Transfers on Human Capital : Evidence from Colombia

Autores

Descripción

Conditional cash transfers are programs under which poor families get a stipend provided they keep their children in school and take them for health checks. Although there is significant evidence showing that they have positive impacts on school participation, little is known about the long-term impacts of the programs on human capital. This paper investigates whether cohorts of children from poor households that benefited up to nine years from Familias en Acción, a conditional cash transfer program in Colombia, attained more school and performed better on academic tests at the end of high school. Identification of program impacts is derived from two different strategies using matching techniques with household surveys, and regression discontinuity design using a census of the poor and administrative records of the program. The authors show that, on average, participant children are 4 to 8 percentage points more likely than nonparticipant children to finish high school, particularly girls and beneficiaries in rural areas. Regarding long-term impact on tests scores, the analysis shows that program recipients who graduate from high school seem to perform at the same level as equally poor non-recipient graduates, even after correcting for possible selection bias when low-performing students enter school in the treatment group. Although the positive impacts on high school graduation may improve the employment and earning prospects of participants, the lack of positive effects on test scores raises the need to further explore policy actions to couple the program's objective of increasing human capital with enhanced learning.

Palabras clave

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF CHILDREN, ACADEMIC LEARNING, ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, ACCESS TO SCHOOLS, ACHIEVEMENT TEST SCORES, ACHIEVEMENT TESTS, ADOLESCENTS, ADULTS, AGE GROUPS, ASSIGNMENT MECHANISM, ASSIGNMENT TO TREATMENT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, AVERAGE ATTENDANCE, AVERAGE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, AVERAGE SCORE, BASIC SERVICES, CHILD CARE, CHILD EDUCATION, CHILD LABOR, CLASS SIZE, CLASSROOM, CLASSROOM SPACE, CLASSROOMS, COLLEGE ENTRANCE, COMMUNITY EDUCATION, COMPLETION RATE, COMPLETION RATES, DEGREES, DEMAND FOR EDUCATION, DROPOUT RATES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, EDUCATED INDIVIDUALS, EDUCATION DEGREE, EDUCATION OUTCOMES, EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT, EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES, EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE, EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES, EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, EDUCATIONAL SUPPLY, EMPLOYMENT, ENROLLMENT RATES, EVALUATION METHODS, EXAM, EXPENDITURES, FEE WAIVER, FINAL GRADES, FINAL OUTCOMES, GIRLS, GRADE REPETITION, GRADUATION RATE, GRADUATION RATES, HIGH SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA, HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, HIGHER EDUCATION, HIGHER ENROLLMENT, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN CAPITAL FORMATION, INDEXES, INFORMATION SYSTEMS, INTERVENTIONS, JOB OPPORTUNITIES, KNOWLEDGE GAP, LABOR FORCE, LEARNING, LEARNING OUTCOMES, LET, LITERATURE, MATH ACHIEVEMENT, MATH TEST, MATHEMATICS, NET ENROLLMENT, NUMBER OF STUDENTS, NUTRITION, NUTRITION STATUS, OLDER CHILDREN, OPEN ACCESS, PAPERS, POOR PEOPLE, PRIMARY EDUCATION, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS, PRIMARY SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLING, PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS, PUPIL RATIOS, QUALITY OF EDUCATION, QUALITY OF LIFE, READING, REGULAR ATTENDANCE, REGULAR SCHOOL ATTENDANCE, RETURNS TO EDUCATION, RURAL AREAS, RURAL SCHOOLS, SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM, SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT, SCHOOL COMPLETION, SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION, SCHOOL ENROLLMENT, SCHOOL FEEDING, SCHOOL GRADUATES, SCHOOL PARTICIPATION, SCHOOL QUALITY, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, SCHOOL SUPPLY, SCHOOL VOUCHERS, SCHOOLING, SCHOOLS, SECONDARY EDUCATION, SECONDARY SCHOOL, STUDENT PERFORMANCE, STUDENTS PER TEACHER, SUBJECTS, SUBSIDIES TO EDUCATION, TEACHER, TEACHER-PUPIL RATIO, TEACHERS, TEACHING, TECHNICAL TRAINING, TERTIARY EDUCATION, TEST SCORES, UNIVERSAL BASIC EDUCATION, URBAN SCHOOLS, YOUTH