Cash Transfers, Trust, and Inter-household Transfers - Experimental Evidence from Tanzania - Research summary

Jul 19, 2026

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Institutionalized conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs can influence informal safety nets, including inter-household transfers and community trust. This randomized controlled trial evaluates how introducing a pilot CCT program in Tanzania affects trust and informal support mechanisms measured across households and individuals. Findings indicate that beneficiaries’ trust and perceived access to support (such as childcare) rise when the program is established. While total transfers to beneficiaries temporarily shrink after 1.75 years, the reduction fades by 2.75 years, suggesting limited crowd-out over time.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

Introduction

Research design and data

Measures and outcomes

Main findings

Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized The World Bank Economic Review, 37(2), 2023, 221–234 [https://doi.org10.1093/wber/lhac030](https://doi.org10.1093/wber/lhac030) Article Cash Transfers, Trust, and Inter-household Transfers: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania David K. Evans and Katrina Kosec Abstract Institutionalized conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs may affect pre-existing, informal safety nets such as inter-household transfers and trust among community members. This study reports on a randomized controlled trial used to test the impact of CCTs on various measures of trust and informal safety nets within communities in Tanzania. It provides evidence that the introduction of a CCT program increased program beneficiaries’trust in other community members and their perceived ability to access support from other households (e.g., childcare) . Although CCTs reduced the total size of transfers to beneficiary households in the community in the short run (after 1.75 years of transfers), that reduction had disappeared 2.75 years after transfers began. Taken together, this evidence suggests that formal CCT programs do not necessarily crowd out informal safety nets in the longer term, and they may in fact boost trust and support across households. JEL classification: H31, H55, I38, O12, O15 Keywords: conditional cash transfers, informal safety nets, service delivery, trust 1. Introduction The transfer of cash and other goods to protect the well-being of households experiencing poverty and adverse shocks extends far back in history, and has occurred largely through informal transfers from household to household. Today, more and more countries are implementing government-administered safety nets like conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs to protect households from extreme poverty.1 The introduction of CCT programs may reduce the need for households to rely on each other for monetary or non-monetary assistance. However, one concern with this diminishing need is that formal programs may crowd out informal transfers, such that—if formal systems are disrupted or the size of formal transfers proves inadequate to fully insure against shocks—households may be left with insufficient access to David K. Evans (corresponding author) is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD), Washington DC, United States; his email address is [devans@cgdev.org. Katrina Kosec](devans@cgdev.org. Katrina Kosec) is a Senior Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington DC, United States; her email address [is k.kosec@cgiar.org. The](is k.kosec@cgiar.org. The) authors thank operational experts at the World Bank (especially Samantha de Silva), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF), specifically Director Ladislaus Mwamanga, former Executive Director Servacius Likwelile, and Amadeus Kamagenge and his team, for insightful comments and substantive and logistical support. The authors are grateful to Eric Edmonds, Selim Gulesci, and three anonymous referees for helpful comments and, for expert research assistance, to Brian Holtemeyer, Amina Mendez Acosta, and Lucia Carrillo. A supplementary online appendix is available with this article at The World Bank Economic Review website. 1 Some cash transfer programs come with conditions on household behaviors (CCTs) and others do not (unconditional cash transfers), but almost none specifically restrict how money is spent. © The Author(s) 2023 . Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / THE WORLD BANK. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in

FAQs

How does the study test the effect of CCTs on informal safety nets in Tanzania?

It uses a randomized controlled trial tied to the pilot CCT introduction in 2010 and analyzes outcomes using follow-up survey data at about 1.75 years and 2.75 years after transfers began.

What happens to beneficiaries’ trust after CCT introduction?

Trust-related outcomes increase by 2.75 years, including beneficiaries’ trust in other community members and perceived access to support from other households, while earlier effects at 1.75 years are limited.

Do CCT programs crowd out inter-household transfers in the short and long term?

Total inter-household monetary transfers to beneficiary households decline in the short run after 1.75 years, but the reduction disappears by 2.75 years, indicating no lasting crowd-out and potential support across households.

Jul 19, 2026

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