CCT

In the last decade, conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are probably the key social policy innovation around the world and in the East Asia and Pacific region. The targeted programs offer money to poor households on the condition they make pre-specified investments in the human capital of children. Typically, this involves school enrollment and attendance, and basic preventive health activities such as periodic checkups, growth monitoring, and vaccinations for young children. Often, programs also involve some information campaigns targeting mothers.

Driven in great part by the fact that CCT programs have been rigorously evaluated and shown to have positive impacts, they have become extremely popular in the developing world. Ten years ago, CCTs were being implemented as pilots in a handful of countries. Today close to three dozen developing countries have either a well-established CCT or are in the process of starting one. In some countries, CCTs have become the largest social assistance program, covering millions of households, as is the case in Brazil and Mexico. Interest in CCT programs is also growing in East Asian countries, including Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines.