The impact of unconditional cash transfers on nutrition: The South African child support grant

In light of research that has cast doubt on whether nutrition responds at all to income increases amongst poor families, South Africa’s Child Support Grant, an unconditional cash transfer program, may seem surprising. However, analysis of the Child Support Grant cash transfers, which are given almost exclusively to women, offers a sharper look at whether such income increases targeted at women reveal a greater impact in child nutrition, as measured by child height-for-age. The authors argue that Child Support Grants significantly boost children's height. The study also finds that the cash transfers are cost-effective on strictly economic criteria: projected earnings among children whose primary caregivers received support payments under the program increased beyond the present value of the cash transfer itself.

International Poverty Centre, UNDP - September 2007