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Money Matters: Evidence from a Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme on Child Health

Anshika Mathur & Gitanjali Sen

Journal of Human Capital2025https://doi.org/10.1086/734859article
AJG 3ABDC A
Weight
0.50

Abstract

We study the effect of a maternity-benefit conditional cash transfer scheme on child and maternal outcomes in India. By leveraging spatial and temporal variations in implementation and eligibility, our difference-in-differences matching estimates reveal reduced neonatal mortality. Using variation in transfer size, we establish the importance of cash amount. Fulfillment of conditions does not appear to be the key driver. The transfer itself may have increased quality of nutrition and health-care utilization. The muted effects on maternal outcomes raise concerns regarding fulfillment of program conditions by mothers. Our findings are robust to sample restrictions, falsification tests, and are supported by exact randomization tests.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1086/734859

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@article{anshika2025,
  title        = {{Money Matters: Evidence from a Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme on Child Health}},
  author       = {Anshika Mathur & Gitanjali Sen},
  journal      = {Journal of Human Capital},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1086/734859},
}

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Money Matters: Evidence from a Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme on Child Health

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.