Do social protection schemes improve adolescent girls´ schooling and health? - Evidence from the implementation of the sabla scheme in Andhra pradesh

Abstract

As part of the ongoing discussion about social protection schemes, this is the first academic study that examines whether the targeted multi-dimensional Sabla scheme in Andhra Pradesh has a positive impact on health and schooling outcomes of adolescent girls. We follow several strategies to produce estimates that deal with non-random program placement, finally using average treatment effects on the treated obtained through Propensity Score Matching and Differences-in-Differences to study the impact of the program. Results suggest that the scheme fails to improve the two studied outcomes and even impacts schooling outcomes negatively. Instead, it has a positive impact on the hours the treated girls spend working.