Jere R . Behrman and Susan W . Parker “ The Impact of the PROGRESA / Oportunidades Conditional Cash Transfer Program on Health and Related Outcomes for the Aging in Mexico ” PIER Working

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs link public transfers to human capital investment in hopes of alleviating current poverty and reducing its intergenerational transmission. Whereas nearly all studies of their impacts have focused on youth, these CCT programs may also have an impact on aging adults, by increasing household resources or inducing changes in allocations of time of various household members, that may be of substantial interest, particularly given the rapid aging of most populations. This paper contributes to this under-researched area by examining health and work impacts on the aging for the bestknown and most influential of these programs, the Mexican PROGRESA/Oportunidades program. For a number of health indicators, the program appears to significantly improve health, with impacts that are larger with a greater time receiving the program. However, most of these health impacts are concentrated on women. * Behrman is the W.R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Economics and Sociology, Economics Department, McNeil 160, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6297, USA; 1 215 898 7704; fax 1 215 898 2124; [email protected]. **Corresponding author: Parker is a Professor/Researcher, Division of Economics, Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE), Carretera Mexico-Toluca No. 3655, 1210 Mexico DF (52) 5727-9800 ext. 2701, Fax: (52) 5727-9878, [email protected]. An earlier version of this paper was commissioned by the National Academy of Science Panel on the Social Determinants of Adult Health and Mortality: Phase II. The authors alone are responsible for all contents of this paper.