Cash transfer programs are popular interventions that are often used in developing countries to, among other things, help improve educational outcomes. However, a debate at the forefront of current global policy discussions centres on whether these programs should include conditions.
A recent C2 systematic review has examined this issue and assessed the effectiveness of both conditional and unconditional cash transfers in improving educational outcomes in developing countries.
75 reports, with data from 35 studies, were included in the review led by Sarah Baird. The review team found that while interventions with no conditions, or unmonitored conditions, have some effect on enrollment rates (18-25 per cent improvement in odds of being enrolled in school), programs that are explicitly conditional and monitored, have substantively larger effects (60 per cent improvement in odds of enrollment).