Maternal cash for better child health?

• Verfasst von: Haaren, Paula von [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Klonner, Stefan [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Maternal cash for better child health?
• Titelzusatz: the impacts of India's IGMSY/PMMVY maternity benefit scheme
• Verf.angabe: Paula von Haaren and Stefan Klonner
• Verlagsort: Heidelberg
• Verlag: University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics
• E-Jahr: 2020
• Jahr: September 2020
• Umfang: 1 Online-Ressource (31, [27] Seiten)
• Illustrationen: Illustrationen
• Gesamttitel/Reihe: Discussion paper series / University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics ; no. 689
• DOI: doi:10.11588/heidok.00028856
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-288560
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• Sach-SW: cash incentives
• Sach-SW: demand-side financing
• Sach-SW: child health
• Sach-SW: maternal health
• Sach-SW: India
• Form-SW: Graue Literatur
• K10plus-PPN: 1728974003
• K10plus-PPN:
  Universitätsbibliothek
• Lokale URL UB: Zum Volltext

Abstract

The maternity benefit scheme introduced as Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) in 2011 and renamed Pradhan Mantri Matriva Sahyog Yojana (PMMVY) in 2017, which incentivizes pregnant and lactating women to participate in various infant health-promoting activities, is India's largest conditional cash transfer program thus far. We approach IGMSY's geographically targeted pilot phase as a natural experiment and use data from a large national health survey to estimate its effects by a matched-pair differences-in-differences approach. Consistent with the program's objectives we find positive, albeit small effects on infant immunization as well as long-term health care utilization. In addition, intervals between eligible births increase by 15 percent. Our findings suggest that PMMVY is moderately cost-effective, at least regarding immunization, but that it will make only a small contribution to redressing India's dismal child-health record.