OSF

The Short Term Impact of a Productive Asset Transfer in Families with Child Labor: Experimental Evidence from the Philippines International DevelopmentPre-Results Acceptances

Eric V. Edmonds Caroline B. Theoharides

Productive asset grants have become an important tool in efforts to push the very poor out of poverty, but we have little evidence on the impact of such grants on adolescents living in beneficiary households. A successful productive asset grant could reduce child labor via a wealth effect if child labor markets are complete, but with incomplete markets the value of child time will be impacted. Using a clustered randomized trial, the PIs work with the Government of the Philippines to evaluate a key component of their child labor elimination program, a $518 productive asset grant, in advance of national rollout. 2,296 households with child laborers were identified in 164 communities in 2016. Using a lottery, 82 communities were selected to have all eligible households receive the grant. The PIs examine the impact of the grant on productive activities within the home, the well-being of household members, and child labor.

 

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