Long-Term Effects of a Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Adult Mortality: Evidence After 20 Years of Progressa

Emma Aguila, University of Southern California
William H. Dow, University of California, Berkeley
Susan Parker , University of Maryland

In spite of their spread across the world, there is remarkably little evidence on the effect of conditional cash transfers on well-being and health of the aging. Most research has emphasized the conditionality of transfers to children’s school attendance and studied education and health effects on children. Yet particularly in contexts where few aging adults receive pensions, CCT programs may have significant impacts on aging adults through their important income and conditionality effects. We study the long term effects of Progresa, the pioneering Mexican conditional cash transfer program, on adult mortality by combining vital statistics with administrative information on program beneficiaries over the last twenty years.

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 Presented in Session 2. Flash Session: Population Aging, Consequences, and Public Policies