SUSTAINABILITY OF IPV IMPACTS FROM CASH TRANSFERS AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE COMMUNICATION: MIXED-METHOD EVIDENCE FROM AN EIGHT-YEAR POST-PROGRAM FOLLOW-UP

Study description

While cash transfer programs have been shown to reduce IPV, less is known about sustainability of reductions or the role of design features (e.g., modality or complementary programming) in contributing to sustainability. We propose to address this knowledge gap using a mixed-method exploration of how design features of a cash transfer program contribute to sustained impacts on IPV. TMRI was a pilot program implemented by the World Food Program from 2012-2014 in two regions of Bangladesh. Following an RCT design, TMRI provided cash or food transfers, with or without nutrition behavior change communication (BCC), to mothers of young children in poor rural households. Results from 6-10 months post-program showed sustained reductions in physical IPV from a combination of transfers and BCC (Cash+BCC in the North, Food+BCC in the South), but no sustained impact from transfers only (Cash in the North, Food in the South). At four years post-program, Cash+BCC in the North led to a persistent 14 percentage point reduction in physical IPV – but Food+BCC in the South no longer had impacts. Analysis at four years post-program also suggested Cash+BCC caused sustained impacts on several plausible pathways for reducing IPV: women’s bargaining power, men’s costs of perpetrating IPV, and poverty-related emotional well-being. This study will use eight-year post-program quantitative and qualitative data to answer the following questions: (1) Are reductions in IPV from Cash+BCC sustained at eight years post-program? (2) How did the BCC contribute to enhancing sustained impacts of cash transfers on IPV – which features of BCC mattered, and through which pathways? (3) How have impacts on IPV from different treatment arms evolved over time, including during shocks?

For more information: See project webpage on the IFPRI site.