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  3. American Economic Review
  4. May 2017
  5. Precommitment, Cash Transfers, and Timely Arrival for Birth: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Nairobi Kenya

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Precommitment, Cash Transfers, and Timely Arrival for Birth: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Nairobi Kenya

  • Jessica Cohen
  • Katherine Lofgren
  • Margaret McConnell
American Economic Review
vol. 107, no. 5, May 2017
(pp. 501–05)
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Abstract

Maternal and neonatal mortality rates in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya are among the highest in the world. Mounting evidence suggests that delivering in a facility is not enough to ensure mortality reductions: women must deliver in high-quality facilities and arrive early enough for appropriate care if complications arise. We designed an RCT combining labeled cash transfers and pre-commitment incentives to encourage earlier and more effective delivery facility choice and to promote earlier facility arrival. We find that the intervention improves planning, increases delivery at the desired facility, and encourages more timely arrival at delivery facilities.

Citation

Cohen, Jessica, Katherine Lofgren, and Margaret McConnell. 2017. "Precommitment, Cash Transfers, and Timely Arrival for Birth: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial in Nairobi Kenya." American Economic Review, 107 (5): 501–05. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20171104

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • I11 Analysis of Health Care Markets
  • I14 Health and Inequality
  • I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
  • I38 Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty: Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
  • J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
  • J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
  • O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration