Written by Ugo Gentilini. A biggie is out: can social assistance help empower women economically and socially? By assembling over a thousand effect sizes from 106 papers (most of which published over the past five years), Peterman et al have a
systematic review poised to become a classic . Their analysis reveals positive impacts across the board, including “highly significant pooled effects across outcomes (…), with similar magnitude of effects for economic achievement and agency outcomes”. Specifically, social assistance generates strongest effects on assets, savings, expenditures, labor supply at the extensive (participation) and intensive margin (hours worked), voice, autonomy, and decision-making; yet effects on aspirations, leadership, debt, and care work...
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