Replication data for: Cash Transfers, Behavioral Changes, and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment

Cash transfer programs have become extremely popular in the developing world. A large literature analyzes their effects on schooling, health and nutrition, but relatively little is known about possible impacts on child development. This paper analyzes the impact of a cash transfer program on early childhood cognitive development. Children in households randomly assigned to receive benefits had significantly higher levels of development nine months after the program began. There is no fade-out of program effects two years after the program ended. Additional random variation shows that these impacts are unlikely to result from the cash component of the program alone. (JEL H23, I15, J13, O15)

现金转移支付项目（Cash Transfer Program）在发展中地区已极为盛行。现有大量文献针对其在教育、健康与营养方面的影响展开了分析，但学界对其可能产生的儿童发展效应的认知仍相对有限。本文聚焦某现金转移支付项目对幼儿认知发展的影响展开研究。研究结果表明，被随机分配至领取补贴组的家庭，其子女在项目启动九个月后的发展水平显著更高；且在项目结束两年后，该项目的效应并未出现衰减。额外的随机变异分析显示，此类影响不太可能仅由项目中的现金转移部分单独所致。(JEL H23, I15, J13, O15)