scholarly journals Do Cash Transfers Improve Birth Outcomes? Evidence from Matched Vital Statistics, Social Security and Program Data

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Amarante ◽  
Marco Manacorda ◽  
Edward Miguel ◽  
Andrea Vigorito
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Birth Outcomes ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Program Data

Do Cash Transfers Improve Birth Outcomes? Evidence from Matched Vital Statistics, and Program and Social Security Data

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Amarante ◽  
Marco Manacorda ◽  
Edward Miguel ◽  
Andrea Vigorito
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Birth Outcomes ◽  
Low Birthweight ◽  
Maternal Nutrition ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Gestational Length ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Intrauterine Growth ◽  
Key Driver

There is limited empirical evidence on whether cash transfers to poor pregnant women improve children's birth outcomes and potentially help weaken the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Using a unique array of program and social security administrative micro-data matched to longitudinal vital statistics in Uruguay, we estimate that participation in a generous social assistance program led to a sizable reduction in the incidence of low birthweight. The effect is due to faster intrauterine growth rather than longer gestational length. Our findings are consistent with improved maternal nutrition during pregnancy being a key driver of improved birthweight. (JEL I14, I32, I38, J13, J16, O15)

The Global Rise of Social Cash Transfers

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lutz Leisering
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Security ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Social Citizenship ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Social Cash Transfers ◽  
The Right

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) proclaimed the equality of all human beings in dignity and rights. The right to social security, however, has been taken more seriously only since the 2000s, through calls for ‘Social security for all’ and ‘Leaving no one behind’. The book investigates a major response, social cash transfers to the poor. The idea of simply giving money to the poor had been rejected by all major development organizations until the 1990s, but since the early 2000s, social cash transfers have mushroomed in the global South and on agendas of international organizations. How come? What programmes have emerged in which countries? How inclusive are the programmes? What models have international organizations devised? Based on unique quantitative and qualitative data, the book takes stock of all identifiable cash transfers in all Southern countries and of the views of all major international organizations. The author argues that cash transfers reflect broader changes: new understandings of development, of human rights, of global risks, of the social responsibility of governments, and of universalism. Social cash transfers have turned the poor from objects of charity into rights-holders and agents of their own lives and of development. A repertoire of cash transfers has evolved that has enhanced social citizenship, but is limited by weak political commitments. The book also contributes to a general theory of social policy in development contexts, through a constructivist sociological approach that complements the dominant approaches from welfare economics and political economy and includes a theory of social assistance.

Towards a Theory of Social Assistance

2018 ◽  
pp. 335-353
Author(s):  
Lutz Leisering
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Social Assistance ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Social Citizenship ◽  
The South ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Global North ◽  
Social Cash Transfers ◽  
North And South

This chapter sets out a theory of social assistance (including social cash transfers), which covers both the global North and South, and discusses the future of income security in the South beyond social cash transfers. It is argued that social assistance constitutes a small but vital component of social security and social citizenship—‘residual but fundamental’. It is further argued that social assistance is ‘fundamental but not comprehensive’, i.e. the challenge of universalizing social citizenship extends beyond relieving poverty. To confront the problem of inequality and get the middle classes on board, cash transfers need to be embedded in a broader, multi-tiered architecture of social security, which increases political support also for cash transfers. Still, despite the fundamental contributions of social assistance and the positive effects of cash transfers in many countries of the South, these programmes remain Janus-faced, entailing inclusions and exclusions, recognition and stigma, autonomy and social control.

Changing Global Discourses

2018 ◽  
pp. 253-276
Author(s):  
Lutz Leisering
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Macroeconomic Policies ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Social Cash Transfers ◽  
The Right ◽  
Discourse Coalitions

All major international organizations had rejected the idea of social cash transfers to the poor until the late 1990s. Why did they adopt the idea by the mid-2000s? It is argued that the 1990s witnessed new discourses among international organizations—on poverty, development, risk, human rights, and universalism—that created an ideational window of opportunity for cash transfers to emerge as a global idea. The new discourses provided new reasons for social security, by raising new global social questions and invoking new social responsibilities of international organizations and states. In particular, the right to social security, laid down in 1948 by the UN, was re-interpreted during the 1990s to require individualized welfare benefits for the poor. Powerful discourse coalitions and discursive practices propelled the new discourses. However, the move towards extending social security was checked by the enduring developmental thinking geared to achieving welfare in the long run by market means and macroeconomic policies.

scholarly journals Birth history as a predictor of adverse birth outcomes: Evidence from state vital statistics data

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 63-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejun Su ◽  
Kaeli Samson ◽  
Ashvita Garg ◽  
Corrine Hanson ◽  
Ann L. Anderson Berry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Birth Outcomes ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
Adverse Birth Outcomes ◽  
Birth History

scholarly journals Comparing the National Death Index and the Social Security Administration's Death Master File to Ascertain Death in HIV Surveillance

2009 ◽  
Vol 124 (6) ◽  
pp. 850-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Hanna ◽  
Melissa R. Pfeiffer ◽  
Judith E. Sackoff ◽  
Richard M. Selik ◽  
Elizabeth M. Begier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Kappa Statistic ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
Transmission Risk ◽  
National Death Index ◽  
Master File ◽  
Hiv Surveillance ◽  
The Social

Objectives. New York City (NYC) maintains a population-based registry of people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection to monitor the epidemic and inform resource allocation. We evaluated record linkages with the National Death Index (NDI) and the Social Security Administration's Death Master File (SSDMF) to find deaths occurring from 2000 through 2004. Methods. We linked records from 32,837 people reported with HIV and not previously known to be dead with deaths reported in the NDI and the SSDMF. We calculated the kappa statistic to assess agreement between data sources. We performed subgroup analyses to assess differences within demographic and transmission risk subpopulations. We quantified the benefit of linkages with each data source beyond prior death ascertainment from local vital statistics data. Results. We discovered 1,926 (5.87%) deaths, which reduced the HIV prevalence estimate in NYC by 2.03%, from 1.19% to 1.16%. Of these, 458 (23.78%) were identified only from NDI, and 305 (15.84%) only from SSDMF. Agreement in ascertainment between sources was substantial (kappa = [K] 0.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.72, 0.76); agreement was lower among Hispanic people (K=0.65, 95% CI 0.62, 0.69) and people born outside the U.S. (K=0.60, 95% CI 0.52, 0.68). We identified an additional 13.62% of deaths to people reported with HIV in NYC; white people and men who have sex with men were disproportionately likely to be underascertained without these linkages ( p<0.0001). Conclusion. Record linkages with national databases are essential for accurate prevalence estimates from disease registries, and the SSDMF is an inexpensive means to supplement linkages with the NDI to maximize death ascertainment.

scholarly journals Social Security Needs for Vital Statistics Records

1939 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 452-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willard C. Smith ◽  
I. S. Falk
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Vital Statistics
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document