The Dynamic Effects of Cash Transfers to Agricultural Households

Little is known about the evolution and persistence of the effects of one-time cash transfers, especially in rural agricultural settings with limited productive investment opportunities. We use bimonthly phone surveys to estimate dynamic impacts for cash transfer recipients in Liberia and Malawi. We find immediate increases in food security that attenuate over time but do not entirely dissipate even 1.5–2 years later, driven by increased farm investments and production. We find increases in farm profits, reductions in casual off-farm labor, improvements in psychological well-being, and, in Liberia, a reduction in intimate partner violence (IPV). (JEL I31, I32, J43, O12, O13, Q12)