Can Cash Transfers Save Lives? Evidence from a Large-Scale Experiment in Kenya

This study provides evidence on how large unconditional cash transfers affect child mortality. One-time transfers of $1,000 were given to over 10,500 poor households cluster-randomized across 653 villages in Kenya, with data collected on more than 100,000 births. The study finds striking impacts: infant mortality fell by 48%, and under-5 mortality fell by 45%. The reductions were largest for neonatal and maternal causes of death that are largely preventable with obstetric care, and were concentrated among poorer households. Transfers also led to a 45% increase in hospital deliveries, improved child nutrition, and short-term declines in maternal labor supply around childbirth. Effects dissipated after the program ended, but the findings suggest that unconditional cash transfers—though not designed for this purpose—may offer a cost-effective way to reduce child mortality in low-income settings. 

Co-authors: Michael Walker, Nick Shankar, Dennis Egger, Grady Killeen

This study is part of a larger project examining the General Equilibrium Effects of Cash Transfers in Kenya. This earlier paper (with co-authors D. Egger, J. Haushofer, P. Niehaus and M. Walker) was published in Econometrica (2022) and was awarded the Econometric Society’s 2024 Frisch Medal for best applied paper published in Econometrica in the previous four years. 

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