Egypt’s Takaful and Karama cash transfer program: Evaluation of program impacts and recommendations

Egypt’s Takaful and Karama cash transfer program: Evaluation of program impacts and recommendations

Author: Breisinger, Clemens

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2018-10-17

Total Pages: 4

ISBN-13: 0896295966

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Egypt has been providing cash to poor households through its first conditional cash transfer program, Takaful and Karama, a social protection program run by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS), since March 2015. Takaful (“Solidarity”) supports poor families with children under 18, while Karama (“Dignity”) supports the elderly poor and people living with disabilities. The cash transfer program has enrolled 2.25 million families across all of Egypt’s governorates. The amount of the Takaful cash transfer provided to households depends on the number of children and their school level. The Karama program provides a set amount per individual. In order to reach the poorest households, participants are selected using a proxy means test. In the Takaful program, 89 percent of recipients are women, while only 11 percent are men. Beginning in 2018, Takaful will also begin implementing conditionalities, requiring households in the program to ensure their children attend school and participate in health screenings, added to antenatal care for pregnant women and post-natal care. The Takaful and Karama program was evaluated by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) using both quantitative statistical methods (simple questions asked to many households during a survey) and qualitative methods (more in-depth questions asked to fewer households in longer interviews). The evaluation was designed to measure and explain the impacts of the cash transfers on household welfare, and to examine whether the program’s criteria for household selection were effective in identifying poor households. This brief, which focuses on the Takaful component of the program, summarizes the main findings from the evaluation and key recommendations.


Impact evaluation report: Egypt’s Takaful Cash Transfer Program: Second round report

Impact evaluation report: Egypt’s Takaful Cash Transfer Program: Second round report

Author: El Enbaby, Hoda

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2022-10-11

Total Pages: 72

ISBN-13:

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Egypt introduced the Takaful and Karama Program (TKP), a pair of targeted cash transfer schemes in March 2015. Takaful and Karama was designed as a conditional cash transfer program providing income support targeted to the poor and most vulnerable; namely poor families with children (under 18 years of age), poor elderly (aged 65 years and above) and persons with severe disability. Originally implemented as an unconditional cash transfer, the program is now a conditional cash transfer program, but the conditionalities have yet to be monitored. Starting July 2017, households received EGP60 for each child under 6 years old, EGP80 for each child in primary education, EGP100 for children in preparatory education, and EGP140 for secondary education. As of June 2017, 90% of TKP beneficiaries were women. In 2018, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) completed the first round of impact evaluation of TKP, based on household survey data collected after the first 15 months of the program. The evaluation found that TKP substantially improved wellbeing for poor households, increasing household consumption per adult equivalent by 8.4 percent. and reducing the probability that a beneficiary household is poor (< USD1.90 per capita per day) by 11.4 percentage points, which is comparable to several of the well-known, large-scale programs in Latin America where consumption impacts are on the order of 7-8 percent.


Impact evaluation study for Egypt's Takaful and Karama cash transfer program: Part 1: Quantitative report

Impact evaluation study for Egypt's Takaful and Karama cash transfer program: Part 1: Quantitative report

Author: Breisinger, Clemens

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2018-10-19

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13:

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This report of the evaluation study provides a greater focus on measuring the impact of the larger Takaful program and also attempts to measure the impact of the much smaller Karama program. In addition, IFPRI will conduct a qualitative assessment of the Takaful and Karama program focused on learning about the experience with the program among the poorest beneficiary households. This qualitative assessment will also draw lessons from the quantitative survey to provide another report on the experience of very poor households. The remainder of this report is organized as follows Chapter 2 provides an overview of the Takaful and Karama Program. Chapter 3 summarizes the impact evaluation design. Chapter 4 describes the evaluation survey and sample. Chapter 5 provides context for the program by using the survey data to summarize the characteristics of beneficiary and non-beneficiary households and describe beneficiaries’ experience with program implementation. Chapter 6 presents the impact estimates for Takaful and Chapter 7 the estimates for Karama. Chapter 8 uses data from a separate representative sample of households collected during the survey to assess the targeting performance of the program. Chapter 9 concludes and discusses implications for social policy in Egypt.


Impact evaluation study for Egypt's Takaful and Karama cash transfer program: Synthesis report- Summary of key findings form the quantitative and qualitative impact evaluation studies

Impact evaluation study for Egypt's Takaful and Karama cash transfer program: Synthesis report- Summary of key findings form the quantitative and qualitative impact evaluation studies

Author: Breisinger, Clemens

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2018-10-25

Total Pages: 18

ISBN-13:

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Since March 2015, the Government of Egypt has been providing cash to poor households through the Takaful and Karama program. The program is run by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS). Takaful supports poor families with children under 18 years of age, while Karama supports the poor elderly and disabled. For Takaful, the amount of cash that households receive depends on the number of children and their school level, while the Karama transfer is a set rate per individual. In 2018, Takaful will also begin requiring households in the program to make sure their children attend school and participate in health screenings. The program was evaluated by IFPRI, an international research organization, using both quantitative statistical methods (simple questions asked to many households during a survey) and qualitative methods (more in-depth questions asked to fewer households in longer interviews). The main goal of this evaluation was to measure and explain how the transfers affected the welfare of households in the program. In addition, the evaluation describes how well the program selection criteria work for identifying poor households.


Impact evaluation study for Egypt's Takaful and Karama cash transfer program: Part 2: Qualitative Report

Impact evaluation study for Egypt's Takaful and Karama cash transfer program: Part 2: Qualitative Report

Author: ElDidi, Hagar

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2018-10-25

Total Pages: 62

ISBN-13:

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This qualitative evaluation of the Takaful cash transfer program was conducted between January and April 2018 by a team of researchers trained in qualitative methods. The evaluation sought to further delve into and explain dimensions of the Takaful transfers’ impact on beneficiaries that were previously under-investigated in the quantitative survey. In so doing, the quantitative components’ findings were also further contextualized and clarified. This qualitative component’s main goals, therefore, were to explore the differences between the transfers’ impact on ultra-poor households and households near the threshold, the differences in how the two household types use the transfer, and the impact of the transfers on intrahousehold decision making with special focus on women.


Impact evaluation report: Egypt’s forsa graduation program

Impact evaluation report: Egypt’s forsa graduation program

Author: Gilligan, Daniel O.

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2022-12-12

Total Pages: 93

ISBN-13:

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Forsa, which means “Opportunity” in Arabic, is a new economic inclusion program of the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Implemented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the program aims to graduate beneficiaries of the national cash transfer program, the Takaful & Karama Program (TKP), to economic self-reliance by enabling them to engage in wage employment or sustainable economic enterprises. The 2021 World Bank Economic Inclusion report (Andrews et al. 2021) highlights a recent increase globally in such graduation or economic inclusion programs, which now reaches around 92 million beneficiaries from 20 million households across more than 75 countries. This rapid growth has necessitated an increasing demand for evidence on best practices in graduation program implementation. The newly designed Forsa program is based on the graduation approach, but with innovations drawing from theories of behavioral economics as well as creating a network of active youth volunteers for economic empowerment to reduce costs compared to the standard BRAC-inspired model. Forsa also expands the graduation model to include the option of wage-employment, rather than only focusing on self-employment. Evidence on the impact of job training programs linked to wage employment on both job retention and future earnings is mixed (McKenzie 2017), although most such programs do not include cash assistance. This impact evaluation of the Forsa program in Egypt is intended to contribute to the global evidence on effective graduation program design as well as provide immediate policy-relevant guidance for the Ministry of Social Solidarity. The impact evaluation will measure the degree to which Forsa is successful at increasing household consumption and will investigate which participant groups and program features demonstrate the greatest improvements in household welfare and economic activity.


Cash transfers and women’s control over decision-making and labor supply in Egypt

Cash transfers and women’s control over decision-making and labor supply in Egypt

Author: El-Enbaby, Hoda

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2019-12-23

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13:

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Women’s control over decision-making within their family, particularly regarding the use of household income, can play an important and long-lasting role in shaping their well-being and that of their children. Cash transfer programs often target women in order to increase their control over household resources. Empirical evidence on the effectiveness of this approach is mixed and suggests the importance of local context. We present evidence on the effect of cash transfers on women’s control over decision-making in the MENA region, where little evidence is available and where cultural norms around women’s roles differ from more-studied regions. Using a regression discontinuity approach, we identify the impact of Egypt’s “Takaful” national cash transfer program on women’s control over decision-making and labor supply. Receiving cash transfers mostly reduced women’s reported ability to influence household decisions, particularly regarding child healthcare. The loss of control over decision-making was greater for women with less than primary education. Other effects of the program include a decline in women’s employment and an increase in men’s involvement in spheres of decision-making usually controlled by women. These results are robust to changes in model specification. We present suggestive evidence from mediation analysis that the negative effects on women’s control over decision-making was directly related to these declines in employment and increase in men’s involvement in female spheres. The negative findings are not wholly supported by complementary qualitative work in which women reported more positive perceptions of the program’s impacts.


The Egyptian Economy in the Twenty-first Century

The Egyptian Economy in the Twenty-first Century

Author: Khalid Ikram

Publisher: American University in Cairo Press

Published: 2022-11-29

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1649033001

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A multi-faceted account of Egyptian economic development by nineteen internationally recognized authorities and the critical challenges the economy is likely to face in the next twenty years The Egyptian Economy in the Twenty-first Century addresses the question of why Egypt, despite possessing a plethora of assets—such as a fertile agriculture, a strategic geographic location, oil and gas deposits, innumerable tourist sites, a labor force prized by regional countries, and a diaspora that remits large amounts of funds—has seldom performed to its economic potential during the last sixty years. Indeed, economic weakness created political weakness, and often exposed the country to foreign diktats. What should the country do to change this state of affairs? Nineteen internationally recognized authorities on the Egyptian economy discuss the critical challenges that the Egyptian economy is likely to face in the next two to three decades, challenges which must be overcome in order to improve the life of Egypt’s citizens and to protect the country from external pressures. Their analyses cover population and employment; development strategies; principal macroeconomic issues; development of a digital economy; fiscal and monetary matters; the external sector; poverty and income distribution; the enterprise structure; higher education; water availability; urbanization; institutional performance; and many others. Contributors: - Gouda Abdel Khalek, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt - Khaled M. Abu-Zeid, Regional Water Resources, CEDARE (Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe), Cairo, Egypt. - Fatma El Ashmawy, World Bank. - Ragui Assaad, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA - Izak Atiyas, Economic Research Forum, Cairo, Egypt. - Marwa Biltagy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. - Lahcen Bounader, International Monetary Fund. - Ishac Diwan, École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. - Ahmed Ghoneim, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. - Khalid Ikram, Washington DC, USA. - Karima Korayem, al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. - Heba el-Laithy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. - Noha el-Mikawy, Ford Foundation, Middle East and North Africa, Cairo, Egypt. - Mohamed Mohieddin, Menoufia University, Menoufia, Egypt. - Heba Nassar, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. - Osman Mohamed Osman, Cairo, Egypt. - Noha Razek, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. - David Sims, Cairo, Egypt. - John Waterbury, Princeton, New Jersey.


Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs

Food subsidies and cash transfers in Egypt: Evaluating general equilibrium benefits and trade-offs

Author: Breisinger, Clemens

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2021-06-02

Total Pages: 23

ISBN-13:

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Most Egyptians receive food subsidies, which are the cornerstone of the country’s social protection system. The government recently attempted to reduce subsidies, with limited success, and introduced a cash transfer program targeting the poor. We use a dynamic general equilibrium model of the Egyptian economy to evaluate the growth and distributional impacts of subsidy reforms and cash transfers. We find that the welfare of poor households would be enhanced by a smaller, but better targeted food subsidy program, and that, if the cost savings from reforms are channeled into investment, faster economic growth would eventually outweigh any short-term welfare losses. However, most of the gains from subsidy reforms accrue to nonpoor households. Combining subsidy reforms with cash transfers leads to the largest welfare gains for the poor, while leaving the welfare of nonpoor households largely intact. The latter is crucial to maintaining support for ongoing subsidy reform efforts.


Boosting growth to end hunger by 2025: The role of social protection

Boosting growth to end hunger by 2025: The role of social protection

Author: Wouterse, Fleur Stephanie

Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst

Published: 2018-10-23

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 0896295982

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Social protection programs—public or private initiatives that aid the poor and protect the vulnerable against livelihood risks—can effectively be used to assist those trapped, or at the risk of being trapped, in chronic poverty. These programs aim to address chronic poverty through redistribution and protect vulnerable households from falling below the poverty line. Although investments in social protection programs are often motivated by equity concerns, they can also contribute to economic growth by, for example, encouraging savings, creating community assets, and addressing market imperfections. Despite their potential and proliferation, not enough is known about social protection programs in Africa. The 2017–2018 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR) reduces this knowledge gap by focusing on the potential of such programs on the continent and the corresponding opportunities and challenges. The chapters of the Report highlight the benefits of these programs, not only to their direct recipients but also others in the community through spillover effects. They also underscore the importance of appropriate design and sustainability to fully realize the potential of social protection programs.