Challenges to promoting social inclusion of the extreme poor: evidence from a large-scale experiment in Colombia

Abramovsky, Laura, Attanasio, Orazio, Barron, Kai, Carneiro, Pedro and Stoye, George (2016) Challenges to promoting social inclusion of the extreme poor: evidence from a large-scale experiment in Colombia. Economía, 16 (2). 89 - 142. ISSN 1529-7470

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• https://economia.lse.ac.uk/articles/10.3...

Abstract

We evaluate the large-scale pilot program of an innovative and major welfare intervention in Colombia, which combines home visits by trained social workers to households in extreme poverty with preferential access to social programs. We use a randomized control trial and a very rich data set collected as part of the evaluation to identify program impacts on the knowledge and take-up of social programs and the labor supply of targeted households. We find no consistent impact of the program on these outcomes, possibly because the way the pilot was implemented resulted in very light treatment in terms of home visits. Importantly, administrative data indicate that the program has been rolled out nationally in a very similar fashion, suggesting that this major national program is likely to fail in making a significant contribution to reducing extreme poverty. We suggest that the program should undergo substantial reforms, which in turn should be evaluated.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://economia.lse.ac.uk/
Additional Information:	© 2016 LACTEA
Divisions:	LSE
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification:	I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare and Poverty > I38 - Government Policy; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C9 - Design of Experiments > C93 - Field Experiments J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J0 - General > J08 - Labor Economics Policies
Date Deposited:	08 Jul 2024 12:18
Last Modified:	14 Sep 2024 10:02
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/123218

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