AIR’s Seidenfeld to Present Findings on Study of Zambia’s Cash Transfer Program

Washington, D.C.David Seidenfeld, a senior researcher at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), will discuss the results of a two-year randomized control trial evaluating Zambia’s Child Grant social cash transfer program during an appearance before the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) in Washington, D.C.

Seidenfeld will participate in the organization’s Impact Evaluation Seminar Series on January 30, 2014, from 12:30 – 2:00pm ET at 2033 K St. NW in Washington, D.C.

Since 2010, the Zambian government has been providing 60 kwacha a month ($12 U.S.) to district households with at least one child under the age of five. No conditions were imposed on how the money should be spent. UNICEF Zambia hired AIR to design and conduct the study of the program’s effectiveness, with funding provided by UNICEF, Irish Aid and Britain’s Department for International Development.

Seidenfeld led the AIR study of 2,515 households in Kalabo, Kaputa and Shangombo, remote districts with Zambia’s highest rates of extreme poverty and mortality among young children. The study found dramatic improvements in the amount of food and clothing going to infants and young children in high poverty families, and a 50 percent increase in the total value of crops produced by households receiving the aid. More information about the study, Zambia's Child Grant Program: 24-Month Impact Report, may be found on the AIR website, www.air.org.

The 3ie-IFPRI seminar series is designed to highlight innovative papers on impact evaluation and facilitate discussion of new impact evaluation research. For more information and to RSVP to the event, visit http://3ieifpriseminarseries.com/.

About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.

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