[Special Issue News] Hard cash boosts child health in South Africa

The South African government since 1998 has offered poor families small amounts of cash each month for each child in the house. Though the Child Support Grant (CSG) program now reaches 11 million children, not all eligible families enrolled at first, and families with more children received more cash. Researchers from the Capetown–based Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI) compared children in families that received no CSGs with those that received one or more. In EPRI's "dose-response" analysis, children fared best in families that received more CSGs, enjoying improved health and well-being and also having better grades and attendance in school.  Author: Jon Cohen
Source: Science: This Week - Category: Science Authors: Source Type: research