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                          enGender Impact: The World Bank’s Gender Impact Evaluation Database



  The Short-Term Impacts of a Schooling Conditional Cash Transfer Program on the Sexual Behavior of
                                          Young Women
 Author(s)    Sarah Baird, Ephraim Chirwa, Craig McIntosh, Berk Ozler
  Contact     bozler@worldbank.org

  Country     Malawi
Organizing
              Voice and Agency
 Theme
   Status     Midline Complete
Intervention
             Cash Transfer
  Category
  Sector      Social Protection
              Recent evidence suggests that conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs for schooling are effective in raising school
              enrolment and attendance. However, there is also reason to believe that such programs can affect other outcomes, such as
              the sexual behavior of their young beneficiaries. Zomba Cash Transfer Program is a randomized ongoing CCT
              intervention targeting young women in Malawi that provides incentives (in the form of school fees and cash transfers) to
              current schoolgirls and recent dropouts to stay in or return to school. An average offer of US$10/ month conditional on
              satisfactory school attendance – plus direct payment of secondary school fees – led to significant declines in early
 Abstract
              marriage, teenage pregnancy, and self-reported sexual activity among program beneficiaries after just one year of program
              implementation. For program beneficiaries who were out of school at baseline, the probability of getting married and
              becoming pregnant declined by more than 40 and 30%, respectively. In addition, the incidence of the onset of sexual
              activity was 38% lower among all program beneficiaries than the control group. Overall, these results suggest that CCT
              programs not only serve as useful tools for improving school attendance but may also reduce sexual activity, teen
              pregnancy, and early marriage.
 Gender
              Gender Focused Intervention
Connection
 Gender
              School enrollment, decision making over family formation, fertility
Outcomes
 IE Design    Clustered Randomized Control Trial (Clustered at Enumeration Area level)
             The CCT was an offer of approximately $10/month for 10 months which represents about 15% of the total monthly
Intervention household consumption in the sample at baseline. Secondary school fees were paid directly to schools if girls were
             enrolled. About 30% of the transfer went to the guardian and the rest went to the girl.
Intervention
             2007-2009
   Period
   Sample    The sample is comprised of 3805 girls from 176 Enumeration Areas in the Zomba district of Malawi. The girls were
 population between the age of 13-22 and were selected from door to dorr surveying.
Comparison
             Control enumeration areas did not receive the CCT
 conditions
   Unit of
             Individual level
  analysis
 Evaluation
             2007-2009
   Period



             Last updated: 14 August 2013                                                                    1
                            enGender Impact: The World Bank’s Gender Impact Evaluation Database


                The program led to large statistically significant increases in enrollment, particularly among those who were not enrolled at
                baseline. The program reduced dropout rates by 35%, from 10.9% among control to 7% among the treated. The program
                reduced the propensity to get married for those who dropped out, but had no effect on girls who remained in school. The
  Results
                treatment group experienced a 30% reduction in pregnancies over the last year. Sexual activity was reduced by 47% for
                dropouts and 31.3% for schoolgirls. The program had no impact on self-reported condom use. Treated schoolgirls are
                much less likely to be participating in risky sexual behaviors, but there is no impact on sexual behaviors for dropouts.
  Primary
                Due to selection bias, it is impossible to answer the question, "for the population of young women who would be sexually
    study
                active in the absence of the program, what would the effect of the program have been on their sexual behavior?"
limitations
  Funding
                Spanish Impact Evaluation Fund
   Source
                Baird, S., Chirwa, E., McIntosh, C., & Özler, B. (2010). The short‐term impacts of a schooling conditional cash transfer
Reference(s)
                program on the sexual behavior of young women. Health economics, 19(S1), 55-68.
  Link to
  Studies       http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hec.1569/abstract
 Microdata
                http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/1005http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/1005




               Last updated: 14 August 2013                                                                       2