More Is Better : Evaluating the Impact of a Variation in Cash Assistance on the Reintegration Outcomes of Returning Afghan Refugees
This paper studies the effect of a change in the amount of cash assistance provided to Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan on household outcomes post-return. Using a regression discontinuity design, it measures the impact of a large exogenous c...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/191991641827471161/More-Is-Better-Evaluating-the-Impact-of-a-Variation-in-Cash-Assistance-on-the-Reintegration-Outcomes-of-Returning-Afghan-Refugees http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36818 |
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okr-10986-368182022-01-14T05:10:35Z More Is Better : Evaluating the Impact of a Variation in Cash Assistance on the Reintegration Outcomes of Returning Afghan Refugees Esper, Hisham Krishnan, Nandini Wieser, Christina MIGRATION REFUGEES CASH ASSISTANCE RETURN MIGRATION This paper studies the effect of a change in the amount of cash assistance provided to Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan on household outcomes post-return. Using a regression discontinuity design, it measures the impact of a large exogenous change in cash assistance amounts on post-return outcomes in a quasi-experimental setting. Administrative data and post-return monitoring data suggest that more than 16 months after their return, returnees who received a larger cash allowance of $350 per returnee—equivalent to 2.5 times the average annual pre-return annual income—were better off than those who received a smaller cash allowance of $150. Recipients of the $350 cash assistance were more likely to invest in durable assets, such as a house (17 percentage point difference); recipients of the $150 cash allowance were more likely to use the assistance for immediate food consumption needs (40 percentage point difference). Households that received $350 per returnee were significantly more likely to have been issued legal documentation for their household members. In line with the literature on cash assistance, the change in cash assistance had no effect on post-return employment outcomes. The findings provide new evidence on the effects of unconditional cash transfers on refugee reintegration and show that larger cash transfer programs can have a large and long-term impact following refugees’ return. 2022-01-13T14:54:42Z 2022-01-13T14:54:42Z 2022-01 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/191991641827471161/More-Is-Better-Evaluating-the-Impact-of-a-Variation-in-Cash-Assistance-on-the-Reintegration-Outcomes-of-Returning-Afghan-Refugees http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36818 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9897 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper South Asia Afghanistan |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
MIGRATION REFUGEES CASH ASSISTANCE RETURN MIGRATION |
| spellingShingle |
MIGRATION REFUGEES CASH ASSISTANCE RETURN MIGRATION Esper, Hisham Krishnan, Nandini Wieser, Christina More Is Better : Evaluating the Impact of a Variation in Cash Assistance on the Reintegration Outcomes of Returning Afghan Refugees |
| geographic_facet |
South Asia Afghanistan |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9897 |
| description |
This paper studies the effect of a
change in the amount of cash assistance provided to Afghan
refugees returning from Pakistan on household outcomes
post-return. Using a regression discontinuity design, it
measures the impact of a large exogenous change in cash
assistance amounts on post-return outcomes in a
quasi-experimental setting. Administrative data and
post-return monitoring data suggest that more than 16 months
after their return, returnees who received a larger cash
allowance of $350 per returnee—equivalent to 2.5 times the
average annual pre-return annual income—were better off than
those who received a smaller cash allowance of $150.
Recipients of the $350 cash assistance were more likely to
invest in durable assets, such as a house (17 percentage
point difference); recipients of the $150 cash allowance
were more likely to use the assistance for immediate food
consumption needs (40 percentage point difference).
Households that received $350 per returnee were
significantly more likely to have been issued legal
documentation for their household members. In line with the
literature on cash assistance, the change in cash assistance
had no effect on post-return employment outcomes. The
findings provide new evidence on the effects of
unconditional cash transfers on refugee reintegration and
show that larger cash transfer programs can have a large and
long-term impact following refugees’ return. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Esper, Hisham Krishnan, Nandini Wieser, Christina |
| author_facet |
Esper, Hisham Krishnan, Nandini Wieser, Christina |
| author_sort |
Esper, Hisham |
| title |
More Is Better : Evaluating the Impact of a Variation in Cash Assistance on the Reintegration Outcomes of Returning Afghan Refugees |
| title_short |
More Is Better : Evaluating the Impact of a Variation in Cash Assistance on the Reintegration Outcomes of Returning Afghan Refugees |
| title_full |
More Is Better : Evaluating the Impact of a Variation in Cash Assistance on the Reintegration Outcomes of Returning Afghan Refugees |
| title_fullStr |
More Is Better : Evaluating the Impact of a Variation in Cash Assistance on the Reintegration Outcomes of Returning Afghan Refugees |
| title_full_unstemmed |
More Is Better : Evaluating the Impact of a Variation in Cash Assistance on the Reintegration Outcomes of Returning Afghan Refugees |
| title_sort |
more is better : evaluating the impact of a variation in cash assistance on the reintegration outcomes of returning afghan refugees |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2022 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/191991641827471161/More-Is-Better-Evaluating-the-Impact-of-a-Variation-in-Cash-Assistance-on-the-Reintegration-Outcomes-of-Returning-Afghan-Refugees http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36818 |
| _version_ |
1764485957476679680 |