EDUCATION STIPEND AND IPV IN BANGLADESH: THE ROLE OF COVERAGE, MODE OF DELIVERY, AND MONETARY VALUE

Study description

Despite the large literature on the impact of cash transfer programs on IPV, the role that the design and operational features of such program play has rarely been examined. Changes to these features can significantly shift or expand the pathways through which cash transfers impacts IPV. Using IFPRI’s longitudinal Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) dataset and leveraging exogenous changes in the design of Bangladesh’s Primary Education Stipend Program (PESP), this project aims to shed light on the significance of the design features of cash transfer program in reducing IPV. The PESP is a conditional cash transfer program implemented by the government of Bangladesh beginning in 2002 with the aim of achieving full primary education coverage. In 2015/16 the program was expanded to include all households in the country with children of primary school going age, the stipend amount was increased, and the payment was no longer made in-person but through mobile phone accounts of the beneficiaries. With the BIHS Round 2 (2015) fielded right before the PESP expansion, and BIHS Round 3 (2018/19) conducted right after, the data provide an ideal quasi-experimental setup to test the impact of the increase in coverage of the program. The study uses a quasi-experimental methodology to explore the following questions: 1) How do changes in: a) coverage, b) delivery modality (in-person versus mobile) and c) value of transfer affect IPV? and 2) What are plausible mechanisms driving these impacts—including economic security and emotional wellbeing, intra-household disagreements regarding resources and women’s empowerment?