American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Sustainable Poverty Reduction through Social Assistance: Modality, Context, and Complementary Programming in Bangladesh
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 17,
no. 2, April 2025
(pp. 102–26)
Abstract
Social assistance programs can increase consumption and reduce poverty, but less is known about whether these impacts are sustained after programs end or how design and context influence sustainability. Using data collected in two regions of Bangladesh four years after a randomized intervention ended, we find that combining cash transfers with complementary programming led to sustained increases in consumption and reductions in poverty. Combining food transfers with complementary programming showed similar patterns to a lesser extent. Cash alone had context-specific sustained effects; food alone had no sustained impacts. Results suggest that context, modality, and complementary programming matter for sustained impacts.Citation
Ahmed, Akhter, Melissa Hidrobo, John Hoddinott, Bastien Kolt, Shalini Roy, and Salauddin Tauseef. 2025. "Sustainable Poverty Reduction through Social Assistance: Modality, Context, and Complementary Programming in Bangladesh." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 17 (2): 102–26. DOI: 10.1257/app.20230108Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
- E21 Macroeconomics: Consumption; Saving; Wealth
- I32 Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
- I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration