The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programmes on Household Work Decisions in Ghana: WIDER Working Paper 2014/116

A cash transfer programme ‘Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty’ has been implemented with the aim of addressing poverty and vulnerability in Ghana. This study looks at the impact of this conditional cash transfer programme on households’ supply of labour for agriculture, paid employment, and non-farm enterprise. We used a difference-in-difference approach to examine the effects of the programme on 3,008 households to learn about their labour supply decisions. We find that the cash transfer leads to a reduction in agricultural labour supply but increases that of paid employment. A careful look at the subsequent targeting of beneficiaries is recommended.