Children on the Move
This paper evaluates the impact of the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) in Turkey, the largest cash transfer program for international refugees in the world. The paper provides prima facie evidence that the program quickly caused substantial changes in household size and composition, with a net movement of primarily school-age children from larger ineligible households to smaller eligible ones. A sharp decline in inequality is observed in the entire study population: the Gini index declined by four percentage points (or 15 percent) within six months of program rollout, and the poverty headcount at the $3.20/day international poverty line declined by more than 50 percent after one year. ESSN caused a moderate increase in the diversity and frequency of food consumption among eligible households, and although there was no statistically significant effect on overall school enrollment, there were meaningful gains among the most vulnerable beneficiary households. To strike the right balance between transfer size and coverage, key parameters in the design of any cash transfer program, policy makers should consider the possibility that refugee populations may respond to their eligibility status by altering their household structure and living arrangements.
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DCW
2020-11
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| Subjects: | CASH TRANSFERS, HUMAN ASSISTANCE, REFUGEES, POVERTY, INEQUALITY, MIGRATION, SAFETY NETS, GINI COEFFICIENT, TARGETED SOCIAL ASSISTANCE, VULNERABLE POPULATION, DISPLACED PERSONS, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/996581604677892185/Children-on-the-Move-Progressive-Redistribution-of-Humanitarian-Cash-Transfers-among-Refugees https://hdl.handle.net/10986/34772 |
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| Summary: | This paper evaluates the impact of the
Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) in Turkey, the largest
cash transfer program for international refugees in the
world. The paper provides prima facie evidence that the
program quickly caused substantial changes in household size
and composition, with a net movement of primarily school-age
children from larger ineligible households to smaller
eligible ones. A sharp decline in inequality is observed in
the entire study population: the Gini index declined by four
percentage points (or 15 percent) within six months of
program rollout, and the poverty headcount at the $3.20/day
international poverty line declined by more than 50 percent
after one year. ESSN caused a moderate increase in the
diversity and frequency of food consumption among eligible
households, and although there was no statistically
significant effect on overall school enrollment, there were
meaningful gains among the most vulnerable beneficiary
households. To strike the right balance between transfer
size and coverage, key parameters in the design of any cash
transfer program, policy makers should consider the
possibility that refugee populations may respond to their
eligibility status by altering their household structure and
living arrangements. |
|---|