Econometrica

Journal Of The Econometric Society

An International Society for the Advancement of Economic
Theory in its Relation to Statistics and Mathematics

Edited by: Guido W. Imbens • Print ISSN: 0012-9682 • Online ISSN: 1468-0262

Econometrica: Nov, 2022, Volume 90, Issue 6

General equilibrium effects of cash transfers: experimental evidence from Kenya

https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA17945
p. 2603-2643

Dennis Egger, Johannes Haushofer, Edward Miguel, Paul Niehaus, Michael Walker

How large economic stimuli generate individual and aggregate responses is a central question in economics, but has not been studied experimentally. We provided one‐time cash transfers of about USD 1000 to over 10,500 poor households across 653 randomized villages in rural Kenya. The implied fiscal shock was over 15 percent of local GDP. We find large impacts on consumption and assets for recipients. Importantly, we document large positive spillovers on non‐recipient households and firms, and minimal price inflation. We estimate a local transfer multiplier of 2.5. We interpret welfare implications through the lens of a simple household optimization framework.


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Supplemental Material

Supplement to "General equilibrium effects of cash transfers: experimental evidence from Kenya"

Dennis Egger, Johannes Haushofer, Edward Miguel, Paul Niehaus, and Michael Walker

This zip file contains the replication files for the manuscript.  It also contains an additional appendix for the manuscript.

Supplement to "General equilibrium effects of cash transfers: experimental evidence from Kenya"

Dennis Egger, Johannes Haushofer, Edward Miguel, Paul Niehaus, and Michael Walker

Appendix A is contained in the Main Appendix (in print with the article). Appendices B, C and D are in the Online Supplemental Appendix. All appendices A - K, including A -D, are also contained in a single file with the Online Replication Material.

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