Analysis of Cash Transfer Programs in Education Assignment

This economics assignment analyzes the impact of cash transfer programs on education in developing countries. The assignment begins with an analysis of a meta-analysis, identifying key features of successful programs, such as the use of conditional cash transfers for secondary education and unconditional transfers for primary education, alongside the importance of supplementary government interventions. It then evaluates program design features and evaluation methods. The assignment further examines case studies in Malawi and Tunisia, comparing the implementation and effectiveness of cash transfer policies in these countries, focusing on factors like enrollment rates, school dropout rates, and the use of conditional versus unconditional transfers. The analysis highlights the importance of considering both the design and evaluation of cash transfer programs to maximize their positive impact on educational outcomes.

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ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT

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Contents
Question 1a)..........................................................................................................................................3
Question 1b)..........................................................................................................................................3
Question 2.............................................................................................................................................3
Question 3.............................................................................................................................................4

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Question 1a)
The Meta analyses carried out shows that the amount of the cash transfer plays an important
role in enrolling students in the developing countries. Again a successful design of the cash
transfer for the enrolment should also include conditions on the transfer. This increases the
attendance of the students. It is advised to use Conditional Cash Transfer for the case of the
secondary education and normal cash transfer for the primary education for more benefit
(Barrera-Osorio, Linden & Saavedra, 2019). The paper also finds out in order to increase the
effectiveness of the programme; a supplementary supply side intervention from the
government can further increase the enrolment and the attendance in the education sector.
Question 1b)
The Meta analysis uses some of the features in order to evaluate the designed program. First
and the foremost feature that has been used in the analysis is the attendance of the students in
the schools. This measures how the programme attracts more students and makes the
education policies more inclusive in case of the developing nations. Apart from that, the
paper also evaluates the programmes based on the reduction in the school dropout rates as
well. Pettifor et al. (2019) stated that, school dropout is a common phenomenon in
developing nations mainly due to the lack of financial stability of the facility they belong to.
Question 2
The proposed feature that has been talked about in the first paper meets in case of Malawi.
However, the paper shows that the government did not use a combination of cash and
condition for the secondary education and hence there has been no significant impact in the
enrolment. Another feature that is present in the policy that matches with the proposition in
the first part is the cost effective use of cash transfer that boosts the attendance significantly
in the developing nations. Lastly, due to the implementation of the policy, the dropout rate in
the primary schools of the country reduced by 40% as was projected in the proposition and
the Meta analysis (García, Harker & Cuartas, 2019). Tunisia on the other hand also followed
the propositions depicted in the first part of the study. The paper uses cash transfer to the
fathers of the student without any conditions and finds out that the enrolment increases
significantly as was projected in the meta analysis. Despite the fact that transfer was not
conditional on the attendance the country saw a large increase in the school participation.

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However, the study did not use a combination of the cash and the conditional transfer of
funds for the betterment of the educational attainment.
Question 3
Malawi Tunisia
 Used only the cash transfer for
boosting the participation (Stampini
et al. 2018).
 The performance of the policy has
been evaluated on different indicators
such as enrolment and participation.
 Used only the cash transfer without
any conditions of attendance.
 The paper evaluates the programme
by evaluating the School Dropout rate
and the attendance of the student.

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Reference
Barrera-Osorio, F., Linden, L. L., & Saavedra, J. E. (2019). Medium-and long-term
educational consequences of alternative conditional cash transfer designs:
Experimental evidence from Colombia. American Economic Journal: Applied
Economics, 11(3), 54-91.
García, S., Harker, A., & Cuartas, J. (2019). Building dreams: The short-term impacts of a
conditional cash transfer program on aspirations for higher education. International
Journal of Educational Development, 64, 48-57.
Pettifor, A., Wamoyi, J., Balvanz, P., Gichane, M. W., & Maman, S. (2019). Cash plus:
exploring the mechanisms through which a cash transfer plus financial education
programme in Tanzania reduced HIV risk for adolescent girls and young
women. Journal of the International AIDS Society, 22, e25316.
Stampini, M., Martinez-Cordova, S., Insfran, S., & Harris, D. (2018). Do conditional cash
transfers lead to better secondary schools? Evidence from Jamaica’s PATH. World
Development, 101, 104-118.