The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on the Matriculation of Junior High School Students into Rural China's High Schools

Abstract

The goal of this study is to examine whether promising a Conditional Cash Transfer (conditional on matriculation) at the start of junior high increases the rate at which disadvantaged students matriculate into high school. Based on a randomized controlled trial involving 1,418 disadvantaged (economically poor) students in rural China, we find that the promise of a CCT has no effect on increasing high school matriculation for the average disadvantaged student. We do find, however, that providing the CCT increases high school matriculation among the subset of disadvantaged students who overestimate the direct costs of attending high school.

Keywords: Conditional Cash Transfer, Voucher, Rural Education, Dropout, High School, Randomized Controlled Trial, China