Second generation effects of an experimental conditional cash transfer program on early childhood human capital in Nicaragua
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15449247 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tania Barham (0000-0002-7889-2200, University of Colorado Boulder), Oscar M Díaz-Botía (Paris School of Economics), Karen Macours (0000-0002-1585-4418, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, corresponding author), John A Maluccio (0000-0003-1849-7759, Middlebury College), Julieta Vera Rueda (Paris School of Economics) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 57 |
| Pages | 101483-101483 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Economics & Human Biology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1570-677X • E-ISSN: 1873-6130 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ehb.2025.101483 |
| PMID | 40138893 |
| OpenAlex | W4408509099 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 37 |
Interventions targeting improvements in human capital are often motivated by their potential to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty from parents to children. This study contributes to the thin evidence base on these links by examining outcomes for children of former program beneficiaries of a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, capitalizing on randomized variation in the timing and CCT's impact on maternal human capital. We estimate intent-to-treat (ITT) differential effects on early childhood anthropometric and cognitive outcomes for 0-3-year-old children of program beneficiaries [N=366], as well as effects on key domains including nutrition, health, stimulation and the home environment. We find that moderately higher schooling for mothers (19-22 years old) who were the original program beneficiaries did not translate into improvements in anthropometrics or cognitive outcomes for their children. We also find no effects on behaviors commonly thought to be affected by higher education such as investments in nutrition and preventive health, or stimulation. Early program beneficiary mothers, however, had worse mental health outcomes and were more likely to use violent disciplinary practices such as spanking, threatening and punishing. Findings demonstrate the complexity of intergenerational mechanisms across genetic, biological, environmental and behavioral factors, and also suggest the importance of maternal mental health as a mechanism influencing child outcomes
Conditional cash transfer · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Human capital · Poverty · Child Nutrition and Water Access · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare
The economics, technology, and neuroscience of human capability formation
Labor market returns to an early childhood stimulation intervention in Jamaica
Maternal Depression, Women’s Empowerment, and Parental Investment
Post-partum depression and the mother-infant relationship in a South African peri-urban settlement
Inference on Treatment Effects after Selection among High-Dimensional Controls
From the Cradle to the Labor Market? The Effect of Birth Weight on Adult Outcomes
Early-Life Health and Adult Circumstance in Developing Countries
Child development
Maternal Depression
Effect of a nutrition intervention during early childhood on economic productivity in Guatemalan adults
Channeling Fisher
The Technology of Skill Formation
Early childhood development coming of age
Childhood Circumstances and Adult Outcomes
Education, Income and Mobility
Long-Term Impacts of Conditional Cash Transfers
Boys' Cognitive Skill Formation and Physical Growth
Wealth Gradients in Early Childhood Cognitive Development in Five Latin American Countries
Experimental Evidence from a Conditional Cash Transfer Program
When the money runs out
The Lasting Effects of Early-Childhood Education on Promoting the Skills and Social Mobility of Disadvantaged African Americans and Their Children
Breaking the Cycle? Intergenerational Effects of an Antipoverty Program in Early Childhood
Long-Term and Intergenerational Effects of Education
Killing Me Softly
Effects of a monthly unconditional cash transfer starting at birth on family investments among US families with low income
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |