The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on Marriage and Divorce
Conditional cash transfers to women, aimed at increasing children’s school enrollment and family health in Mexico, had modest effects on their marriage or divorce rates.
Cite this Article
Bobonis, Gustavo J. "The impact of conditional cash transfers on marriage and divorce." Economic Development and cultural change 59.2 (2011): 281-312.
Bobonis, G. J. (2011). The impact of conditional cash transfers on marriage and divorce. Economic Development and cultural change, 59(2), 281-312.
Bobonis, Gustavo J. "The impact of conditional cash transfers on marriage and divorce." Economic Development and cultural change 59, no. 2 (2011): 281-312.
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This article was written by and was originally published by Economic Development and Cultural Change in January of 2011Conditional cash transfers –payments to individuals in exchange for certain actions, such as children’s school attendance and preventive health care visits – are becoming an increasingly popular instrument of development policy and poverty alleviation programs. Such programs often channel resources to the female heads of households in order to ultimately benefit children. By targeting women, conditional cash transfer programs support gender equity and women’s empowerment, but they may also have unintended consequences on marriage and divorce. They may change spousal relationships by improving a family’s financial stability or by fostering women’s economic independence. As growing evidence demonstrates that parental divorce and growing up in a single-parent household may have negative long-term effects on children, including education levels, mental health, and socio-economic status during adulthood. In 1998, the Mexican government began the PROGRESA Program, which targets more than 2.6 million women in poor, rural communities in Mexico with cash transfers that are contingent upon children’s school attendance, family health checks and adult women’s participation in health clinics. This study evaluates the short-run impact of the cash transfers on marriages among low-income households.
Cite this Article
Bobonis, Gustavo J. "The impact of conditional cash transfers on marriage and divorce." Economic Development and cultural change 59.2 (2011): 281-312.
Bobonis, G. J. (2011). The impact of conditional cash transfers on marriage and divorce. Economic Development and cultural change, 59(2), 281-312.
Bobonis, Gustavo J. "The impact of conditional cash transfers on marriage and divorce." Economic Development and cultural change 59, no. 2 (2011): 281-312.
