The consumption of household goods, bargaining power, and their relationship with a conditional cash transfer program in Peru

This research assesses the effect of the JUNTOS cash transfer program on the consumption of certain merit goods (such as food) and demerit goods (such as alcoholic drinks). We will address the following questions: How much of an impact does the transfer made to mothers have on household consumption of certain goods? This research utilizes socioeconomic information from the National Household Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Hogares), 2009-2012 in an unbalanced panel. The results of the fixed-effects estimates unquestionably show that the JUNTOS program’s beneficiary households spend a large proportion of the family budget on food consumption and education.

Keywords

Bargaining Power, Conditional Cash Transfers, Demerit Goods, Merit Goods

JEL Classification

D12, I38