unite for
children
Cash Transfers, Productive Investment,
and Child Work
Jacobus de Hoop
UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti & Transfer Project
April, 2019: Transfer Project Workshop
Malawi, Zambia quantitative findings: With Sudhanshu Handa, Valeria Groppo on behalf of evaluation teams
Malawi qualitative findings: With Susannah Zietz and Sudhanshu Handa
Tanzania quantitative findings: With Valeria Groppo on behalf of evaluation team
Tanzania qualitative findings: With Margaret Gichane and Stephanie Zuilkowski

2
As we have seen, households invest cash transfers in
productive activities. What are the implications for children?
Do children support these activities? What does this mean
for their development and wellbeing?
This presentation:
1. Quantitative RCT evidence: Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia
2. Qualitative photovoice evidence: Malawi, Tanzania

3
Children support expansion in household
entrepreneurial activities
Bars represent percentage point impacts. Children up to the age of 17 at endline.
33.9***
17.5***
26.9***
0
10
20
30
40
Malawi SCTP Tanzania PSSN Zambia MCP
Household owns livestock
6.8***
3.8*** 3.9***
0
2
4
6
8
Malawi SCTP Tanzania PSSN Zambia MCP
Child cares for livestock

4
Similar patterns, but less pronounced, may be observed for
non-livestock agricultural activities and non-agricultural
business.
Adults too, increase work for the household enterprise.
Children may compensate by taking over their household
chores.
There can be offsetting effects. In some instances, children
reduce engagement in work outside the household for pay.

5
Exposure to work-related hazards and participation in
work below the minimum working age may increase
Bars represent percentage point impacts. Hazards measured in line with UNICEF
MICS and Dayıoğlu (2012). Minimum working age set at 12, in line with ICLS
recommendations.
4.4**
0.009
0
2
4
6
Malawi SCTP Tanzania PSSN
Hazardous work
1.8
4.6**
4.9*
0
2
4
6
Malawi SCTP Tanzania PSSN Zambia MCP
Work below min. working age

6
Other child wellbeing
indicators improve.
• Strong improvements in
education outcomes and
children’s material wellbeing
• No deterioration in health
outcomes
Malawi.
Photo of youth carrying bricks.

7
Caregivers and children express nuanced views in
qualitative interviews.
Yes, economic needs can force children to work and drop
out of school. But...
• Cash transfers address these economic needs
• Caregivers express feelings of guilt and regret when this happens
Hazards and (in work outside the household) exposure to
poor treatment are commonly mentioned

8
Tanzania.
It is important to learn because without education it is hard to understand things in life.

9
Tanzania. I took this picture at home to show you that I usually fetch water at home and
this is girls’ activity in our household.

10
Question to the audience: how do you interpret these
findings?

11
Asante
Merci
Obrigado
Thank you
Zikomo

12
Works cited
Jacobus de Hoop, Valeria Groppo and Sudhanshu Handa. (Forthcoming).
“Cash Transfers, Microentrepreneurial Activity, and Child Work: Evidence
from Malawi and Zambia”. World Bank Economic Review.
Jacobus de Hoop, Margaret W. Gichane, Valeria Groppo, and Stephanie
Zuilkowski. (2019). Cash Transfers, Public Works, and Child Activities:
Mixed Methods Evidence from Tanzania. Mimeo.
Susannah Zietz, Jacobus de Hoop and Sudhanshu Handa. (2018). “The
Role of Productive Activities in the Lives of Adolescents: Photovoice
Evidence from Malawi” Children and Youth Services Review, 86: 246-255.