Alternative Cash Transfer Delivery Mechanisms: Impacts on Routine Preventative Health Clinic Visits in Burkina Faso

29 Pages Posted: 27 Jan 2012 Last revised: 5 Feb 2023

See all articles by Richard Akresh

Richard Akresh

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Damien de Walque

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG); World Bank

Harounan Kazianga

Oklahoma State University - Stillwater

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: January 2012

Abstract

We conducted a unique randomized experiment to estimate the impact of alternative cash transfer delivery mechanisms on household demand for routine preventative health services in rural Burkina Faso. The two-year pilot program randomly distributed cash transfers that were either conditional or unconditional and were given to either mothers or fathers. Families under the conditional cash transfer schemes were required to obtain quarterly child growth monitoring at local health clinics for all children under 60 months old. There were no such requirements under the unconditional programs. Compared with control group households, we find that conditional cash transfers significantly increase the number of preventative health care visits during the previous year, while unconditional cash transfers do not have such an impact. For the conditional cash transfers, transfers given to mothers or fathers showed similar magnitude beneficial impacts on increasing routine visits.

Suggested Citation

Akresh, Richard and de Walque, Damien and Kazianga, Harounan, Alternative Cash Transfer Delivery Mechanisms: Impacts on Routine Preventative Health Clinic Visits in Burkina Faso (January 2012). NBER Working Paper No. w17785, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1992822

Richard Akresh (Contact Author)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ( email )

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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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Damien De Walque

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)

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World Bank ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://econ.worldbank.org/staff/ddewalque

Harounan Kazianga

Oklahoma State University - Stillwater ( email )

Stillwater, OK 74078-0555
United States