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Jamaica's Social Safety Net: Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH)

The government of Jamaica launched its social safety net initiative, the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), in 2001 to better target welfare benefits to the poor and to increase human capital by conditioning receipt of the benefits on requirements for school attendance and health care visits.

Mathematica researchers found that PATH succeeded in targeting benefits to the island’s poorest households and in encouraging households to send their children to school with greater regularity. The program also increased the use of preventive health care for children in PATH families. There was no evidence that PATH affected longer-term outcomes, such as grades, advancement to the next grade, or health care status.  Most constituencies, including people in poverty and government workers, believed that the program improved social welfare delivery in Jamaica.

Data sources for the evaluation included the program’s management information system; the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions 2002, a survey of a representative sample of PATH beneficiaries; and baseline and follow-up surveys of the participant and comparison groups. The Statistical Institute of Jamaica collected the data. Mathematica provided technical assistance in instrument development and field procedures to maximize response rates.

Publications

“Evaluation of Jamaica’s PATH Program: Final Report” (March 2007)
"Evaluation of Jamaica's PATH Program: Methodology Report" (September 2003)