世界银行 -Evidence Briefs on Cash Transfers - Overview and Ten Key Messages-此为英文文档

SOCIALPROTECTION&JOBS|POLICY&TECHNICALNOTEMARCH2024|No.33

EvidenceatYourFingertipsSeries

EvidenceBriefsonCashTransfers:

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OverviewandTenKeyMessages

Tohelppolicymakersmakepracticalprogrammaticdesignchoices,thisseriessummarizesrecentliteratureoncashtransfersandexplainshowthedesignofcashtransferprogramscanaffectoutcomes.

Theseriesislaunchedwithaninitialsetoffivethematicbriefsonbenefitsize,timing(frequencyandduration),transfermodality(cashversusin-kind),paymentmechanism(physicalversusdigital),andgender.Theevidenceislargelybasedonimpactevaluationspublishedinthepastdecade.1Althoughtheimpactsofcashtransferscanvarydependingonthecontext,thisoverviewbriefaimstopresentmainkeytakeawaysonhowdesignfeaturescanimpactcashtransferoutcomes.

1.Broadlyspeaking,greaterimpactscomewithhighercosts.Makinglargerormorefrequenttransfersorprovidingcomplimentarysupport2tobeneficiariesareoftenassociatedwithgreaterimpactsbutalsocostmoney.Policymakersmustconsidercostandcomplexitywhendesigningprogramsandtheconfluenceofthesekeydesignparameters(e.g.,numberofbeneficiaries,amountperbeneficiary).Withagivenbudget,theymustmakethesedecisionsbasedontheprogramobjectivesandcontext.

2.Theevidencefavorscashoverin-kindorvouchers.Althoughthereissomeevidencethatin-kindtransfersincreasefoodconsumption,overall,

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1Theanalysisreliedonheavily

Bastalgiandcolleagues(2016

).Selectreferencesfromolderstudies(datingbackto2009)areincludedwherenewerevidenceisnotavailable.Thesecanbefoundinthetopicspecificbriefs.

2Someprogramsprovidecomplimentarysupport(sometimescalledcashplus)suchastrainingorassettransfertoimprovethedevelopmentoutcomeoftheprograms.Also,communicationonkeydevelopmentissues,suchasincreaseawarenessonusinghealthandeducationservices,showntobekeyforsomecontext.

l

InnovationsforpovertyAction

WORLDBANKGROUP

socialprotection&Jobs

RAPIDSOCIALRESPONSE

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cashtransfersappeartobemoreeffectivethanin-kindtransfersorvouchersatimprovingarangeofoutcomes,3,4includingdecreasingmonetarypoverty,improvinghealthandnutrition,andincreasingfoodsecurityacrossvariouscontexts,objectives,anddesignfeatures.Insomecases,acombinationofmodalitiesoraddingmoresupport,“pluselements,”suchasbehaviorchangecommunicationinadditiontocash,arethemosteffectiveatimprovingprimaryoutcomes.Intermsofcostefficiency,83percentofeverydonordollargoesstraightintopeople’shandswhenitisdeliveredascash,comparedwith54percentforin-kindfood(WFP2022).

3.High-valuetransfershaveagreaterimpactthanlow-valuetransfersonarangeofoutcomes,

includingconsumption,savings,investment,andspecifichealthandnutritionoutcomes.(Highvalueisdefinedasmorethan30percentofhouseholdincomeorconsumptionofthebottom40percentofthepopulation.)Forexample,basedonareviewof15cash-transferprograms,high-valuetransfersresultedingreaterfoodexpenditurethanlow-valuetransfers(Bastalgietal.2016).Nevertheless,small-valuetransfersstillwork.Smalltransfers(evenlessthan10percentofannualincome)canhavemeasurableimpacts,particularlywhencashiscombinedwithaccompanyingmeasuressuchasbehaviorchangecommunication.

4.Accompanyingmeasurescanalsoclosegendergapsandempowerwomenandgirlsbybuildingskillsandsocialcapital,butitisimportanttoconsidercareburdenswhendesigningthem.Inarandomizedcontrolledtrialofacash-plusprograminBangladesh,sustainedreductionsingender-basedviolencewereachievedwhentransferswerecombinedwithnutritiontrainingsessions(Royetal.2019).

5.Highertransferspaidinalumpsumcanpushahouseholdtomakelong-terminvestmentsandleadtogreaterassetaccumulation.

Notjusttheamount,butalsohowtheamountispaid(lumpsumvs.accumulative)caninfluencetheimpactoninvestment;lumpsumtransfersmayenablehouseholdstoinvestmoresubstantiallythanpaymentsmadeovertime.

6.Cashtransfersdistributedoveralongerperiod(morethantwoyears)wereassociatedwithgreaterimpactsrelatedtohumancapital,suchaschildren’shealth,nutrition,education,employment,andlabor.Predictabilityallowshouseholdstoplanforthefuture,asshownbygreaterimpactsoninvestments,allowingbeneficiaryhouseholdstoengageinmoreprofitableincome-generatingactivities.Timingisanothercriticalfactor;forexample,higherimpactswereconfirmedwhenbenefitsweretimedtopivotalperiodsinearlychildhooddevelopment,suchasthefirst1,000days.

7.Digitalpaymentsoffermoreopportunitiestoincreaseprogramimpactsandcost-effectiveness.Thetypeofpaymentmechanismcanaffectrecipients’useofcashandwelfareindicators,includingconsumption,foodsecurity,genderequityandempowerment,andfinancialinclusion.Digitaltransferscanalsolowertransactioncostsforimplementersandbeneficiaries.Ultimately,acountry’sfinancialorpaymentecosystem,includingavailabilityofpaymentserviceproviders,know-your-customerframeworks,digitalbarriers,andliteracy,determineschoiceofpaymentmodality.Fordigitalpaymentstobeinclusiveandhelpclosegendergaps,itiscriticaltoconsiderwomen’smobilephoneownershipanddigitalliteracy.Cashtransferprogramsareincreasinglysubsidizingmobilephones

3Recentdataunderscorepreviousfindingsthatcashtransfersincreaseconsumptionandmayincreaseassetaccumulation.

4Recentstudiesalsoshowthatcashtransfersprovidegreateragencyovertime-usedecisions.Theydonotnecessarilydiscourageworkwhileofferingthepossibilityofsubstitutingwageworkforpersonalorfamilycare,self-employment,andeducationforchildren.

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whereownershiplevelsarelow,especiallyamongthepoorestwomen.

8.Cashtransfershelpclosegendergapsinhumancapital,increasingwomen’saccesstojobs,assets,financialinclusion,andentrepreneurshipopportunitiesandtherebyempoweringthem.Manysocialassistanceprogramsdeliberatelyconsidergenderintheirdesignandimplementationtonarrowgendergaps.Forexample,thisincludesprioritizingfemalemembersofthehouseholdstobethegrantees/recipientsofcashtransfers,andengagingmenandcommunityleaderstoencouragemore-equitablegendernormsandpreventbacklashagainstwomen’sempowerment.Impactevaluationshavebeguntoestablishthecontributionofcashtransferstomorecomplexoutcomeareas,includingcurbinggender-basedviolence,shiftingharmfulsocialnorms,andbuildingwomen’sresiliencetoshocks,betheyclimate,disaster,orhealthrelated.

9.Inadditiontodesign,implementationisimportantintermsofactualimpacts.Theimplementationprocessandarrangementsmustbeestablished,carefullyconsideringtheexistinginstitutionalcapacityandstructureinthecountryandtheprogramareas.Someofthedecisionsonthesedesignfeatureshavedirectimplicationsforcostandimplementationcomplexity(e.g.,whetheraprogramwillhaveconditionalitiesthatwillbemonitored,whetherthemonitoringresultswillbelinkedtothetransferamount).

10.Whilethebodyofevidencecontinuestogrow,thereviewhasrevealedseveralgapsintheevidencebase.Mostofthestudiesevaluatetheprogramimpactbycomparingbeneficiariesandnon-beneficiaries,andtherearelimitedstudieswhichcomparethedifferentdesignfeatureswithinthesameprogram,keepingotherparametersconstant.Inaddition,comparedtotheshort-termimpactsonconsumption,health,andeducationwhichhavebeen

extensivelyevaluated,theevidencebecomesthinnerforthelong-termimpactsondifferentoutcomeindicators.Belowhighlightstheareasinneedoffurtherinvestmentasfutureresearchtopic:

Furtherresearchdirectlycomparingcumulativelow-valuetransferswithhigh-valuetransfersovertime,therebycombininganalysisofsize,duration,andfrequency,wouldbuttressthecurrentbodyofevidence.Thereisalsolimitedevidenceoftheimpactofdifferentvaluesofcashtransfersoneducationandempowerment.Notableregionalandcontextualgapsarealsopresentintheexistingliterature;researchfromAsia,Europe,WesternAfrica,andNorthAmericaisneededtocomplementcurrentanalyses.

Furtherresearchisneededintothelong-termeffectsofdigitalcashtransferstodeterminewhethergreatercontroloverresources,bargainingpower,easeofaccess,andavailabilityoffinancialproductsandserviceshavelong-termimpactsonhouseholdwelfareindicatorssuchashealth,nutrition,education,andempowerment.

Furtherresearchisalsoneededtodeterminetheconditionsunderwhichdifferentmodalities—andtheircomposition—aremoreorlesseffective.Forinstance,thecompositionoffoodtransfershasasignificanteffectonoutcomessuchasdietarydiversityandcalorieintake.Therearealsogapsinassessingmodalitiesforoutcomesbeyondhealth,nutrition,andfoodsecurity.

Fewstudiesisolatetheimpactsofdifferentdesignfeaturesorprogramcomponentstodeterminediverseimpactsonintimatepartnerviolence,includingtrade-offsbetweentransferringcashtomenversuswomenandwhetherin-personordigitalpaymentsaremostlikelytoremainwithintherecipient’scontrol.Frequencycombinedwithsize(orvalue)ofdisbursementsmayalsohavegender-relatedimpacts,suchaswomen’sabilitytocontrolcash,butmorerigorousevidenceisneeded.

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References

Bastagli,Francesca,JessicaHagen-Zanker,LukeHarman,ValentinaBarca,GeorginaSturge,andTanjaSchmidt.2016.“CashTransfers:WhatDoestheEvidenceSay?”OverseasDevelopmentInstitute,London.

/media/documents/11316.pdf

.

Manley,James,LiaFernald,andPaulGertler.2015.“Wealthy,HealthyandWise:DoesMoneyCompensateforBeingBornintoDifficultConditions?”AppliedEconomicsLetters22(2):121-6.

/10.1080/13504851.2014.929618

.

Roy,Shalini,MelissaHidrobo,JohnF.Hoddinott,BastienKoch,andAkhterAhmed.2019.“CanTransfersandBehaviorChangeCommunicationReduceIntimatePartnerViolenceFourYearsPost-Program?ExperimentalEvidencefromBangladesh.”IFPRIDiscussionPaper1869.InternationalFoodPolicyResearchInstitute,Washington,DC.

/10.2499/p15738coll2.133421

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WFP(WorldFoodProgram).2022.“SendingMoneyinCrisessothatPeoplecanProtectThemselvesandRecoverFaster”WorldFoodProgramWhitePaperSeriesCBTPolicy

SOCIALPROTECTION&JOBSPOLICY&TECHNICALNOTEMARCH2024No.33

EvidenceatYourFingertipsSeries

Thisnoteprovidesanoverviewandmainmessagesfoundinthefollowingthematicbriefsintheseries:

•Cashtransfervalues:Howmuchisenough?

•Cashtransfertiming:Howtransferdurationandfrequencycontributetooutcomes?

•Paymentmechanisms:Dooutcomesvaryaccordingtopaymenttype?

•Cashversusin-kindtransfers:Dooutcomesvaryaccordingtomodality?

•Cancashtransfersreducegender-basedviolence?How?

Theseriesislaunchedwiththeaimthatthesebelivingdocuments.Inthatspirit,theteamwelcomessuggestionsonmaterialsandtopicstobecoveredinsubsequentinstallmentsthatcanserveasuseful,practicalreferencesforpractitionersofsocialprotection.

TheseriesisajointinitiativeofInnovationsforPovertyActionandtheWorldBankSocialProtectionandJobsGlobalPracticecomprisingNathanaelGoldberg,LaurenWhitehead,SavannaHenderson,AnaAlatristeTamayo,JulieKedroske,UgoGentilini,YukoOkamura,MohamedAlmenfi,GiorgiaValleriani,HrishikeshTMMIyengar,andMiaBlakstad.IoanaBotea,AlineCoudouel,AlessandraHeinemann,StephanieKuttner,andPalakRawalpreparedthebriefongender-basedviolence.Formor