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Begin New Search Author Alan Sanchez Publication Year within 25 Years

1. Peru’s JUNTOS Cash Conditional Transfer Program: Geographic Targeting(2005-2017)

Author:
Miguel Angel Carpio, Farhan Majid, Sonia Laszlo, Alan Sanchez, and Zeljko Janzic
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) have become an important anti-poverty policy globally in recent decades by aiming to alleviate poverty through financial incentives tied directly to human capital investments (namely primary and secondary schooling and maternal and child health). In Peru, the CCT program JUNTOS targeting poor families was established in 2005. By 2017, it has covered 693 thousand families in 1,305 of Peru’s 1,943 districts. 1 Official sources estimate that 72% of all potential household beneficiaries were already covered by the program by 2015.2 In order to select its beneficiaries, JUNTOS implemented a two-stage procedure. The first stage involves geographic targeting by selecting districts in need. The second stage then selects households in the targeted districts. In both cases the program follows an eligibility rule. Like most large-scale anti-poverty programs, JUNTOS was rolled out in several phases. However, despite considerable work evaluating JUNTOS, to our knowledge the various phases and changes observed in the eligibility rule over these phases have not yet been described in detail in one single public document. Furthermore, in discussions with researchers who have evaluated JUNTOS, some discrepancies have been noted between de jure criteria for selection and de facto receipt of benefits. With this in mind, this report has two objectives: (i) to document the information available about the eligibility rule at the district level (also known as the geographic rule); and (ii) to use the information available to replicate the eligibility rule using information that is publicly available. One key challenge we faced in elaborating this report is that the information that is publicly available about the JUNTOS eligibility rule is not specific enough in some important respects, including the sources of information used, the definition of the variables, and the specific ways in which the rule was updated over time.
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, Finance, Economy, and Development Aid
Political Geography:
South America and Peru

2. The impact of intimate partner violence on child development in Peru

Author:
Mariel Bedoya, Karen Espinoza, and Alan Sanchez
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)
Abstract:
Resarchers used longitudinal data from a cohort of Peruvian children (n=1,720) tracked starting at the age of 1 year old to test the association between alcohol-induced physical IPV (intimate partner violence) against the mother during the child’s first two years of life, and the child’s cognitive, socio-emotional and schooling outcomes between the ages of 5 and 8. Multivariate regression techniques are used to estimate the relationship of interest, as they allow for controlling of child, household, and community characteristics. The authors find that early life exposure to IPV is negatively associated with cognitive outcomes (vocabulary and math test scores) for all children, and with self-efficacy for girls. We find no association with child’s self-esteem and age of school enrollment indicators. The effects are larger among children whose mothers are better educated and live in urban areas. Results remain robust across different specifications and after isolating changes in relevant variables over time.
Topic:
Development, Children, Gender Based Violence, Violence, and Intimate Partner Violence
Political Geography:
Latin America and Peru

3. Understanding teenage fertility, cohabitation, and marriage: the case of Peru

Author:
Marta Favara, Pablo Lavado, and Alan Sanchez
Publication Date:
09-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)
Abstract:
In this study, the authors used data from the Young Lives study, which inves­tigates teenage childbearing, marriage, and cohabitation by tracking a cohort of individuals from the ages of 8 to 19 years. While the present analysis does not intend to establish causality, the longitudi­nal nature of the data allows the researchers to identify the combination of early circumstances and life changes that induce a higher likelihood of these events. The analysis addresses bias due both to reverse causality and to community characteristics that are usually unobserved and fixed over time, a strategy that is quite unique in studies of developing countries. About 1 out of 5 females (and 1 out of 20 males) in our sample had at least one child by the age of 19, and 80 percent of them were married or cohabiting. Early marriage/cohabitation is indeed intrinsically re­lated to early pregnancy and largely predicted by the same factors. For females specifically, girls from poor households with an absent parent for a prolonged period have a higher risk of early childbearing. Similarly, girls whose self-efficacy and educational aspirations decrease over time are more at risk of becoming a mother during adolescence. Conversely, school attendance and better school performance predict a lower risk of early pregnancy; the analysis suggests that this is largely because it postpones the first sexual relationship.
Topic:
Health, Children, Sexuality, Public Health, Young Adults, and Adolescence
Political Geography:
Latin America and Peru