Providing a Healthier Start to Life: The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs on Infant Mortality

In this paper I evaluate the impact of Mexicos income transfer program, Oportu-nidades, on infant mortality. This program is a radical departure from typical income transfer programs since cash transfers are provided conditional on the bene\u85ciaries going for regular health care check-ups, mothers and small children receiving nutri-tional supplements and children attending school. The program started in 1997 and by 2001 it had reached approximately 63,500 rural communities or approximately 10 percent of the rural population of Mexico. While other studies on Oportunidades take advantage of a randomized treatment and control evaluation database performed in 506 communities, the database lacks su ¢ cient sample size to measure impacts on infant mortality. Instead I use vital statistics data to compute municipality level rural infant mortality rates and use the phasing-in of the program over time both between and within the municipality to identify the impacts. I \u85nd that Oportunidades led to an approximately 5 percent decrease in infant mortality in Mexcio. However, the reductions are as great as 10 percent in those communities where household had better access to piped water and electricty prior to program interventions.