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Do cash transfers have the ability to empower women? A case study on the Child Support Grant in South Africa

Holmlund, Thea LU and Sohlman, Saga LU (2016) NEKH03 20161
Department of Economics
Abstract
Cash transfer programs have been shown to be a successful tool in reducing poverty by multinational impact analysis. However, if they are able to affect gender dynamics remains a debated topic. Critics claim that the programs may reinforce traditional gender roles whilst others mean that increasing women’s income with a cash transfer is empowering. This study investigates the Child Support Grant in South Africa and whether it affects women’s intra-household bargaining power and hence women’s empowerment. The field method is a survey questionnaire responded by women either receiving the grant (the treatment group) or applying for it for the first time (the control group). The empirical data collected through the questionnaires are analysed... (More)
Cash transfer programs have been shown to be a successful tool in reducing poverty by multinational impact analysis. However, if they are able to affect gender dynamics remains a debated topic. Critics claim that the programs may reinforce traditional gender roles whilst others mean that increasing women’s income with a cash transfer is empowering. This study investigates the Child Support Grant in South Africa and whether it affects women’s intra-household bargaining power and hence women’s empowerment. The field method is a survey questionnaire responded by women either receiving the grant (the treatment group) or applying for it for the first time (the control group). The empirical data collected through the questionnaires are analysed econometrically. To receive the Child Support Grant did not show any significant effect on women’s bargaining power. However, the number of years a household has received the grant exhibits a small significant positive relationship with women’s intra-household bargaining power, implying a long-term impact. The rather small amount of the cash transfer, households with complex family structures and deeply rooted gender roles are believed to explain the lack of a larger effect on women’s bargaining power. (Less)
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author
Holmlund, Thea LU and Sohlman, Saga LU
supervisor
organization
course
NEKH03 20161
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
intra-household bargaining power, cash transfers, South Africa, empowerment of women, child support
language
English
id
8889552
date added to LUP
2016-09-09 15:47:32
date last changed
2016-09-09 15:47:32
@misc{8889552,
  abstract     = {{Cash transfer programs have been shown to be a successful tool in reducing poverty by multinational impact analysis. However, if they are able to affect gender dynamics remains a debated topic. Critics claim that the programs may reinforce traditional gender roles whilst others mean that increasing women’s income with a cash transfer is empowering. This study investigates the Child Support Grant in South Africa and whether it affects women’s intra-household bargaining power and hence women’s empowerment. The field method is a survey questionnaire responded by women either receiving the grant (the treatment group) or applying for it for the first time (the control group). The empirical data collected through the questionnaires are analysed econometrically. To receive the Child Support Grant did not show any significant effect on women’s bargaining power. However, the number of years a household has received the grant exhibits a small significant positive relationship with women’s intra-household bargaining power, implying a long-term impact. The rather small amount of the cash transfer, households with complex family structures and deeply rooted gender roles are believed to explain the lack of a larger effect on women’s bargaining power.}},
  author       = {{Holmlund, Thea and Sohlman, Saga}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Do cash transfers have the ability to empower women? A case study on the Child Support Grant in South Africa}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}