Does the Conditional Cash Transfer Program Empower Women? Evidence from Ain El-Sira, Egypt

Several developing economies have introduced conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs, which provide money to poor families contingent on certain behavior, usually investments in human capital, such as sending children to school or bringing them to health centers. The approach is both an alternative to more traditional social assistance programs and a demand-side complement to the supply of health and education services. Unlike most development initiatives, conditional cash transfer programs have been subject to rigorous evaluations of their effectiveness using experimental or quasi-experimental methods. Evaluation results for programs launched in Colombia, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Turkey reveal successes in addressing many of the failures in delivering social assistance, such as weak poverty targeting, disincentive effects, and limited welfare impacts. There is clear evidence of success from the first generation of programs in Colombia, Mexico, and Nicaragua in increasing enrollment rates, improving preventive health care, raising household consumption, and empowering women. Given the available data from Ain El-Sira in Egypt, this study contributes to the limited if not unavailable evidence on the impact of CCT on poor Egyptian families behavior with respect to various aspects such as female work, empowerment, violence, and family planning. This study will use the several data collection activities that were conducted in Ain El-Sira. There were a baseline survey before the implementation of the CCT program, mid-line survey (after 13 months of implementation) and monthly progress data collection for the 162 selected families.