Díaz, J. J. y Saldarriaga, V. (2014). Efectos del programa de transferencias condicionadas JUNTOS en el peso al nacer de los niños. Lima: CIES.

This paper assesses the effect of the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, JUNTOS, on neonatal health of children who were exposed to the Program while in utero. The paper also explores whether JUNTOS has improved the prenatal health care of pregnant women. Different estimation techniques are implemented, including difference-in-differences, maternal fixed effects, and instrumental variables approaches. A series of indicators are used to determine whether JUNTOS has had an impact on neonatal health (mainly birth weight) and prenatal care. The data came from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) over the period 2004-2013. Results indicate that JUNTOS has not had an effect on birth weight, but there is some evidence suggesting that the program has improved the prenatal health care of pregnant women. Limitations in the data, however, do not allow concluding that JUNTOS has not enhanced the health status of newborns.