Conditional cash transfers: effects on labour market outcomes and household financial well-being in Kazakhstan

I investigate the impact of conditional cash payments in Kazakhstan on adult labour supply and the household financial outcomes. The identification strategy exploits the random assignment of sub-districts into treatment and control groups. The results show evidence that the benefits increased the likelihood of employment among mothers by 7.6 percentage points, but had no effect on household heads or fathers. Additionally, households in the treatment group were 8.5 percentage points more likely to borrow. This study extends the literature on developing countries by examining the effect of a conditional cash transfer programme in a new, understudied setting.