Lessons from Burkina Faso: Rethinking Social Safety Nets for Lasting Impact

Cash transfers are a critical part of social safety nets. More recently, integrated programs combining either information or home visits have been adopted to help households overcome barriers to improving child development. Working with the Burkina Faso government, we conduct a randomized experiment in 225 rural villages to assess the impact of an integrated social safety net over the child’s life cycle. Villages were randomized to a control group or one of the following treatments: cash transfers; cash transfers plus government-run information meetings focused on children’s health and psychosocial development; or cash transfers, information, and home visits reinforcing the information meetings. Fifteen months after the treatment ended, households receiving the cash, information, and home visits have fewer pregnancies, more medically assisted childbirths, enhanced health behaviors, and better educational outcomes. Home visits are critical for improving early childhood development, while cash transfers, with or without information, do not show lasting impacts.