Firdaus Finuliyah, Moh. Khusaini, Ferry Prasetyia, Al Muizzuddin Fazaalloh
No entitlement is more fundamental to children than the right to survive and flourish across all dimensions of life. Promoting child well-being requires not only safeguarding against risks but also enabling children to achieve their full developmental potential. However, research linking social protection to child protection and care outcomes remains limited, and guidance on designing programs to strengthen family unity and ensure quality care is underdeveloped. This study contributes new evidence from Indonesia, where the scale and institutional maturity of conditional cash transfer programs provide a unique opportunity to assess their effectiveness. Using the 2022 National Socioeconomic Survey (Susenas) and applying an inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) approach, the analysis yields robust causal estimates of the impacts of Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH), Indonesia’s flagship conditional cash transfer program. The results confirm significant improvements in child well-being, while heterogeneous effects reveal variation across socio-demographic and institutional contexts. © 2026 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia
