Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfer on Child Nutrition in Pakistan: Evidence from Benazir Income Support Program (BISP)

Abstract

The prevalence of impaired growth of children has been an immensely painful phenomenon in developing countries. The core reasons behind impaired growth among children are the prevalence of inadequate nutrition intakes. BISP cash transfer has a long-run objective to ensure the nutritional status of the beneficiaries. Therefore, the prime objective of the study is to evaluate the effects of BISP on child nutrition (less than five years) by using the four waves of the household surveys conducted by Oxford Policy Management (OPM) to document the BISP impact evaluation. The results of RDD estimation indicate that cash transfer has positive and significant effects on child nutrition. Likewise, we also employed the household fixed-effect model. The findings also authenticate the results of RDD. Further results highlight that BISP has more significant and positive impacts on male children's nutrition than the beneficiaries' female children.