Cash Transfers in an Epidemic Context : The Interaction of Formal and Informal Support in Rural Malawi

Strobbe, Francesco; Miller, Candace

dc.creator	Strobbe, Francesco
dc.creator	Miller, Candace
dc.date	2012-03-19T18:05:05Z
dc.date	2012-03-19T18:05:05Z
dc.date	2011-10-01
dc.date.accessioned	2023-02-17T20:59:52Z
dc.date.available	2023-02-17T20:59:52Z
dc.identifier	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20111004141054
dc.identifier	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3588
dc.identifier.uri	http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/244552
dc.description	This paper investigates the short-run consumption expenditure dynamics and the interaction of public and private arrangements of ultra-poor and labor-constrained households in Malawi using an original dataset from the Mchinjii social cash transfer pilot project (one of the first experiments of social protection policies based on unconditional cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa). The authors exploit the unique source of exogenous variation provided by the randomized component of the program in order to isolate the effect of cash transfers on consumption expenditures as well as the net crowding out effect of cash transfers on private arrangements. They find a statistically significant reduction effect on the level of consumption expenditures for those households receiving cash transfers, thus leading to the rejection of the perfect risk sharing hypothesis. Moreover, by looking at the effects of cash transfers on private arrangements in a context characterized by imperfect enforceability of contracts and by a social fabric heavily compromised by high HIV/AIDS rates, the analysis confirms the presence of crowding out effects on private arrangements when looking at gifts and (to a lesser extent) remittances, while informal loans seem to be completely independent from the cash transfer's reception. From a policy perspective, the paper offers a contribution to the evaluation of the very recent wave of social protection policies based on (unconditional) cash transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa, suggesting that there might be an important role for public interventions aimed at helping households to pool risk more effectively.
dc.language	English
dc.relation	Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5824
dc.rights	CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.rights	World Bank
dc.subject	AGRICULTURAL INPUTS
dc.subject	AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT
dc.subject	AMOUNT OF RISK
dc.subject	ASYMMETRIC INFORMATION
dc.subject	BENEFICIARIES
dc.subject	BORROWER
dc.subject	BORROWING
dc.subject	CAPITAL MARKETS
dc.subject	CASH TRANSFER
dc.subject	CASH TRANSFERS
dc.subject	CHILD POVERTY
dc.subject	CHRONIC POVERTY
dc.subject	COLLATERAL
dc.subject	CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE
dc.subject	CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES
dc.subject	CONSUMPTION SMOOTHING
dc.subject	CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT
dc.subject	COPING BEHAVIORS
dc.subject	CREDIT MARKET
dc.subject	CREDIT MARKET CONSTRAINTS
dc.subject	CREDIT TRANSACTIONS
dc.subject	CROP YIELDS
dc.subject	CROWDING OUT
dc.subject	DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
dc.subject	DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
dc.subject	DROUGHT
dc.subject	DURABLE
dc.subject	ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
dc.subject	ECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subject	ECONOMIC SHOCKS
dc.subject	EMPLOYMENT
dc.subject	ENFORCEABILITY
dc.subject	ENFORCEABILITY OF CONTRACTS
dc.subject	EXTENDED FAMILIES
dc.subject	FOOD AID
dc.subject	FOOD CONSUMPTION
dc.subject	FOOD CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES
dc.subject	FOOD DISTRIBUTION
dc.subject	FOOD INSECURITY
dc.subject	FOOD ITEMS
dc.subject	FOOD POLICY
dc.subject	FOOD PRICES
dc.subject	FOOD SECURITY
dc.subject	FREE FOOD
dc.subject	GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS
dc.subject	GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD HEAD
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD HEADS
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD INCOME
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD LEVEL
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD SIZE
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD SURVEY
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
dc.subject	HOUSEHOLD TRANSFERS
dc.subject	HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
dc.subject	HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX
dc.subject	HUMAN RESOURCES
dc.subject	IDIOSYNCRATIC RISK
dc.subject	IDIOSYNCRATIC SHOCKS
dc.subject	INCOME
dc.subject	INCOME INEQUALITY
dc.subject	INCOME SHOCKS
dc.subject	INFLATION
dc.subject	INFLATION RATE
dc.subject	INFORMAL INSURANCE
dc.subject	INFORMAL LOANS
dc.subject	INFORMAL SUPPORT
dc.subject	INSTRUMENT
dc.subject	INSURANCE MARKETS
dc.subject	INSURANCE SCHEMES
dc.subject	INTERNATIONAL BANK
dc.subject	INVESTING
dc.subject	LABOR MARKET
dc.subject	LABOUR
dc.subject	LEGAL FRAMEWORKS
dc.subject	LIVESTOCK OWNERSHIP
dc.subject	LOAN
dc.subject	LOCAL CURRENCY
dc.subject	MALNUTRITION
dc.subject	MEDICAID
dc.subject	MORTALITY
dc.subject	NATIONAL POVERTY
dc.subject	NATIONAL POVERTY LINE
dc.subject	NEGATIVE SHOCKS
dc.subject	OLD AGE
dc.subject	OLD AGE PENSIONS
dc.subject	PARTIAL RISK
dc.subject	POLITICAL ECONOMY
dc.subject	POOR
dc.subject	POOR HEALTH
dc.subject	POOR HOUSEHOLD
dc.subject	POOR HOUSEHOLDS
dc.subject	POVERTY LINE
dc.subject	POVERTY REDUCTION
dc.subject	PRIVATE INSURANCE
dc.subject	PRIVATE TRANSFERS
dc.subject	PROTECTION MECHANISMS
dc.subject	PROTECTION POLICIES
dc.subject	PROTECTION POLICY
dc.subject	PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE
dc.subject	PUBLIC INTERVENTION
dc.subject	PUBLIC INTERVENTIONS
dc.subject	PUBLIC PENSION
dc.subject	PUBLIC TRANSFER
dc.subject	PUBLIC TRANSFERS
dc.subject	REMITTANCE
dc.subject	REMITTANCES
dc.subject	REPAYMENT
dc.subject	RISK SHARING
dc.subject	RISK SHARING ARRANGEMENTS
dc.subject	RURAL
dc.subject	RURAL AREAS
dc.subject	RURAL COMMUNITY
dc.subject	RURAL CREDIT
dc.subject	RURAL CREDIT MARKET
dc.subject	RURAL CREDIT MARKETS
dc.subject	RURAL HOUSEHOLDS
dc.subject	RURAL VILLAGES
dc.subject	SAFETY
dc.subject	SAFETY NET
dc.subject	SAFETY NETS
dc.subject	SHOCK
dc.subject	SHOCKS TO INCOME
dc.subject	SMALLHOLDER FARMING
dc.subject	SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
dc.subject	SOCIAL INSURANCE
dc.subject	SOCIAL PROTECTION
dc.subject	SOCIAL SAFETY NET
dc.subject	SOCIAL SAFETY NETS
dc.subject	SOCIAL SECURITY
dc.subject	SOCIAL TRANSFER
dc.subject	SOCIAL WELFARE
dc.subject	TARGETING
dc.subject	TAX
dc.subject	TRADING
dc.subject	TRANSFER BENEFICIARIES
dc.subject	TRANSFER PROGRAM
dc.subject	TRANSFER PROGRAMS
dc.subject	TRANSFER RECIPIENT
dc.subject	TRANSFER RECIPIENTS
dc.subject	TRANSITORY SHOCKS
dc.subject	ULTRA POOR
dc.subject	VALUABLE ASSETS
dc.subject	VILLAGE ECONOMIES
dc.subject	VULNERABLE PEOPLE
dc.subject	WEALTH EFFECT
dc.subject	WORKING CONDITIONS
dc.title	Cash Transfers in an Epidemic Context : The Interaction of Formal and Informal Support in Rural Malawi
dc.type	Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
dc.coverage	Africa
dc.coverage	Africa
dc.coverage	Sub-Saharan Africa
dc.coverage	Southern Africa
dc.coverage	Malawi