Abstract
The use of low-quality informal health care providers (IHCP) is still prominent in developing countries, despite the efforts of their governments to expand institutional services. On the other hand, conditional cash transfers (CCT) programs have become instrumental to encourage the use of formal health services, but little is known about their direct impact on the use of IHCP. Using a large survey of rural households, and a Regression Discontinuty Design, we estimate the effects of the Peruvian CCT program on the demand for IHCP. We find a sizeable reduction on the use of IHCP not only in targeted but also in non-targeted members of treated households, indicating the existence of spillover effects within the household. We also provide suggestive evidence that beyond the direct increase in income, the availability of better information about institutional services is a potential mechanism driving these effects.We also find a corresponding improvement on self-perception of health status. Our results are robust to a number of sensitivity analyses.
Acerca del expositor
Profesor asociado y jefe del Departamento Académico de Finanzas de la Universidad del Pacífico. Es licenciado en Economía por la Universidad del Pacífico, máster y Ph.D. en Economía de University of Cambridge (Reino Unido).
Su investigación incluye temas de política monetaria, evaluación de impacto, economía del desarrollo y métodos cuantitativos. Sus artículos han aparecido en Journal of International Money and Finance, Journal of Development Economics, International Journal of Central Banking, entre otras revistas especializadas. Su investigación ha sido acreedora de distinciones y premios internacionales, donde destacan varias ediciones del Premio Rodrigo Gómez del Centro de Estudios Monetarios Latinoamericanos.
Ha sido jefe del Departamento de Modelos Macroeconómicos del Banco Central de Reserva del Perú. También ha sido becario de Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation y Scholar de St John's College, Cambridge.