Schooling responses to income changes: Evidence from unconditional cash transfers in Rwanda

This paper explores the short and medium term impacts of unconditional cash transfers on school-related choices for children of beneficiary households in Rwanda. We draw on an independent evaluation of the Concern Worldwide Graduation Programme, which supported beneficiaries with monthly cash transfers and livelihood training. Our study finds that the programme enabled poor households to overcome income constraints and, consequently, allowed them to make investments in education. However, since school attendance already exceeded 80 percent at baseline due to the government’s focus on universal access to basic education, the programme was unable to induce additional educational access. Thus, for children who remain out of school, income effects and policy efforts were found to be ineffective.The research on which this paper is based was commissioned by Concern Worldwid

Graduating from food insecurity: evidence from graduation projects in Burundi and Rwanda

Graduation model programmes deliver a package of support to poor households, including cash and asset transfers, training and coaching, and access to savings facilities. They have been shown to reduce extreme poverty but evidence for their impacts on household food security is limited. Drawing on multiple-round evaluations of graduation projects in Burundi and Rwanda, this paper demonstrates statistically significant impacts on several food security indicators, including months of hunger, meals per day and dietary diversity. Importantly, positive impacts were sustained for households that were re-interviewed two years after they exited the programme.Concern Worldwide Lt

Great Expectations and Reality Checks: The Role of Information in Mediating Migrants’ Experience of Return

Using qualitative data from Ghana, this article explores the role of information in the formation of expectations of migrants and their families back home, with specific reference to the return experience. We develop a typology to illustrate (1) how information influences expectations throughout the migration experience; (2) the ability of the migrant and their family to adapt to those changing expectations, given differing levels of information; and (3) the implications (1) and (2) have for return. Latent tensions and conflicts emerge in which expectations of migrants and migrant families are not harmonious. The evidence shows that the pace of adaptation and change is regulated by access to information; information flow between migrant at destination and home; and the propensity of the migrant to adapt, which is related to the level of financial dependency (or strength of obligation) between migrant and home. The article raises policy questions around information access and information flows, community sensitisation and returnee reintegration, especially in poorer areas.Cet article utilise des données qualitatives sur le Ghana pour étudier le rôle que joue l’information dans la formation des attentes des migrants et de leurs familles, en ciblant plus particulièrement l’expérience du retour. Nous développons une typologie dans le but d’illustrer (1) comment l’information détermine les attentes dans le cas de l’expérience migratoire, (2) la capacité des migrants et de leurs familles à s’adapter à de nouvelles attentes dues à des niveaux d’information différents; et (3) les conséquences que les deux premiers points peuvent avoir sur les conditions du retour. Des tensions latentes se manifestent et des conflits émergent quand les attentes des migrants et de leurs familles ne vont pas dans le même sens. Les témoignages montrent que le rythme d’adaptation et de changement est régulé par l’accès à l’information, que l’information circule entre les migrants arrivés à destination et le pays d’origine, et que la propension des migrants à s’adapter est liée au niveau de dépendance financière (ou au poids des obligations) entre les migrants et le pays d’origine. L’article soulève des questions à propos de l’accès à l’information et les flux d’information, la sensibilisation des communautés, et la réintégration de ceux qui sont de retour, plus particulièrement dans les régions pauvres.