Household Vulnerability and Conditional Cash Transfers

This book empirically analyzes the vulnerability of poor households in rural areas of Mexico and the effects of the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program called PROGRESA-Oportunidades by adopting the two most recent sets of rural household panel data for 20032007. The period covered by this book coincides with the unexpected reversal of the poverty trend observed in 2006 to the present which raised a question of vulnerability to poverty of Mexican households that had emerged from poverty in the early 2000s under a stable economic condition. The author applies different methodologies in defining vulnerable households in each chapter, enabling discussion of the multiple dimensions of vulnerability from varying perspectives, to identify the determinants of rural household vulnerability to poverty and the CCT effects. Empirical studies reported in this book confirmed a certain role played by PROGRESA-Oportunidades in mitigating vulnerability; however, the effect was rather partial and could not fully achieve poverty reduction during the surveyed period. By combining the existent discussions and empirical results of the CCT impacts, the author concludes that a possible limitation of PROGRESA-Oportunidades may be the excessive focus on the labor supply side, thus complementary policies must enhance the demand side, especially in creating decent employment opportunities for youth.

Provides empirical confirmation of the consumption smoothing effects of the conditional cash transfer programs Examines the long-term impact of mitigating household vulnerability using the 2003-2007 PROGRESA-Oportunidades panel data, which has not been fully utilized in other literature Concludes that one possible limitation of PROGRESA-Oportunidades might be the excessive focus on the labor supply side, thus complementary policies must enhance the demand side, especially in youth employment Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Autorentext

Naoko Uchiyama is a senior assistant professor at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies. She earned her Ph.D. from Kobe University in 2014.

Inhalt

Chapter 1 Outlook of the Mexican Economy, Poverty, and Vulnerability.- Chapter 2 Determinants of the Recent Poverty Increase and Household Vulnerability in Rural Mexico.- Chapter 3 Impacts of CCT and Rising Food Prices on Rural Household Consumption.- Chapter 4 Household Vulnerability and the CCT Within the Risk-Sharing Framework.