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Peer Effects in Child Work Decisions: Evidence from PROGRESA Cash Transfer Program

  • Marco Del Angel EMAIL logo , Ramon A. Castillo Pónce and Rogelio O. Grados Zamudio
Published/Copyright: April 23, 2025

Abstract

This study examines the spillover effects of the PROGRESA program on ineligible children’s participation in economic activities by exploiting the randomized design of the intervention and employing an instrumental variable strategy. We find that the incidence of child work among ineligible children is strongly affected by peer group’s child work decisions. We also find that peer group school attendance has a significant but smaller effect on ineligible children’s participation in economic activities. Our findings are relevant for policy makers as they show that cash transfer programs can have an indirect spillover effect on child work.

JEL Classification: J13; I31; O12; D83

Corresponding author: Marco Del Angel, California State University Los Angeles, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA, E-mail: 

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2024-0368).


Received: 2024-10-21
Accepted: 2025-03-28
Published Online: 2025-04-23

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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