TY  - GEN
TI  - Maternal cash for better child health? The impacts of India?s IGMSY/PMMVY maternity benefit scheme
Y1  - 2020/09//
T3  - Discussion Paper Series / University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics
AV  - public
CY  - Heidelberg
ID  - heidok28856
KW  - cash incentives
KW  -  demand-side financing
KW  -  child health
KW  -  maternal health
KW  -  India
UR  - https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/28856/
A1  - von Haaren, Paula
A1  - Klonner, Stefan
EP  - 59
N2  - The maternity benefit scheme introduced as Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) in 2011 and renamed Pradhan Mantri Matriva Sahyog Yojana (PMMVY) in 2017, which incentivizes pregnant and lactating women to participate in various infant health-promoting activities, is India?s largest conditional cash transfer program thus far. We approach IGMSY?s geographically targeted pilot phase as a natural experiment and use data from a large national health survey to estimate its effects by a matched-pair differences-in-differences approach. Consistent with the program?s objectives we find positive, albeit small effects on infant immunization as well as long-term health care utilization. In addition, intervals between eligible births increase by 15 percent. Our findings suggest that PMMVY is moderately cost-effective, at least regarding immunization, but that it will make only a small contribution to redressing India?s dismal child-health record.
ER  -