Social Protection and Social Distancing During the Pandemic: Mobile Money Transfers in Ghana /

We study the impact of mobile money transfers to a representative sample of low-income Ghanaians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement of the upcoming transfers affects neither consumption, well-being, nor social distancing. Once disbursed, transfers increase food expenditure by 8%, income...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
1. Verfasser:
Karlan, Dean
Körperschaft:
National Bureau of Economic Research
Weitere Verfasser:
Lowe, Matt, Osei, Robert Darko, Osei-Akoto, Isaac, Roth, Benjamin N., Udry, Christopher R.
Format:
Elektronisch E-Book
Sprache:
Englisch
Veröffentlicht:
Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2022.
Zusammenfassung:
We study the impact of mobile money transfers to a representative sample of low-income Ghanaians during the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement of the upcoming transfers affects neither consumption, well-being, nor social distancing. Once disbursed, transfers increase food expenditure by 8%, income by 20%, and a social distancing index by 0.08 standard deviations. Over 40% of the transfers were spent on food. The positive effects on income mostly persist at final measurement, eight months after the last transfer. Together, we learn that cash transfers can support households economically while also promoting adherence to public health protocols during a pandemic.
Umfang:
1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);
Anmerkungen:
July 2022.
Schlagworte: