Is Progresa Working? Summary of the Results of an Evaluation by Ifpri

Programa Nacional de Educacion, Salud y Alimentacion (PROGRESA) is one of the major programs of the Mexican government aimed at developing the human capital of poor households. Targeting its benefits directly to the population in extreme poverty in rural areas, it aims to alleviate current poverty through monetary and in-kind benefits, as well as reduce future levels of poverty by encouraging investments in education, health, and nutrition. This document summarizes 24 months of extensive research by the International Food Policy Research Institute designed to evaluate whether PROGRESA has been successful at achieving its goals. The evaluation analyzes what has been the impact of PROGRESA on education, health, and nutrition as well as in other areas, such as women’s status and work incentives. The evaluation is based on data collected from seven states that were among the first to receive PROGRESA: Guerrero, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Puebla, Querétero, San Luis Potosi, and Veracruz. A total of 24,000 households from 506 localities in these states were interviewed periodically between November 1997 and November 1999. Focus groups and workshops with beneficiaries, local leaders, PROGRESA officials, health clinic workers, and schoolteachers were also carried out. In the central impact areas of education, health, and nutrition, the results are encouraging. The initial analysis of PROGRESA’s impact on education shows that the program has significantly increased the enrollment of boys and girls, particularly of girls and above all, at the secondary school level. The results imply that children will have, on