Authors
Shilpa Aggarwal, Jenny Aker, Dahyeon Jeong, Naresh Kumar, David Sungho Park, Jonathan Robinson, Alan Spearot
Publication date
2022/10/3
Publisher
Unpublished
Description
We study the dynamic effects of large, unconditional cash transfers in rural Liberia and Malawi using bi-monthly phone surveys. We document improvements in food security until the end of surveying (about a year in Liberia and two years in Malawi), but find a short-lived effect on food expenditures and no effect on non-agricultural income at any point. Increased food security appears to have been generated by increased productive investment. After 18-25 months, we also document improvements in IPV, psychological well-being, and resilience, as well as investment and agricultural output. We find no evidence of effects on local prices or of spillovers to untreated households.
Total citations
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