Encouraging use of prenatal care through conditional cash transfers: Evidence from JUNTOS in Peru

Abstract

We use a difference‐in‐differences strategy to estimate the effects of JUNTOS, a conditional cash transfer program targeted to poor rural households in Peru, on use of prenatal care. Using data from the Peruvian Demographic and Health Surveys over the period 2000–2011, we find that JUNTOS increased prenatal care utilization among program‐eligible women. Even more, we find positive effects of JUNTOS on the probability of receiving prenatal care delivered by a skilled professional, including specific medical checkups during the prenatal visits, and a negative effect on the probability of experiencing obstetric emergencies during labor and childbirth.

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