Prosperity. Social Inclusion Programme (2014-2019)
2014-2019
This programme is the successor of Oportunidades and aims to articulate and coordinate the institutional offer of programmes and social policy actions, including productive promotion, earnings generation, economic wellness, labour and financial inclusion, education, feeding, and health targeted to extreme poor households. These actions consider schemes that enable families to improve their living conditions, to be social rights holders, and to access to the social development with opportunities equality. The program offers two support schemes: (i) the Support Scheme with Co-responsibility, in which families can receive the support of all program components because the coverage and attention capacity of the services of education and health allow the simultaneous operation of the educational, health and food components; and (ii) the Support Scheme without Co-responsibility, in which the coverage and attention capacity of the services of education and health do not allow the simultaneous operation of the educational, health and food components, for which families can only receive the supports of the food, linkage and higher education components, without being subject to conditions in order to receive the transfers of the program. Also, the programme complements the intervention with other social programmes offering access to basic services (Programa para el Desarrollo de Zonas Prioritarias, Programa de Fomento a la Urbanización Rural), housing (Programa Vivienda Digna, Programa Vivienda Rural) and social security (Estancias Infantiles, Seguro de Vida para Jefas de Familia, Programa de Pensión para Adultos Mayores). Lastly, the programe considers hearing rights for families who are unjustified cancelled their participation, in order to enforce the right of reinstatement.
Characteristics
Households below the food poverty line
National
1) Geographical: The universe of attention comprises all localities in the country. But priority is given to the localities with households registered in the System of Development Targeting (SIFODE); and the Index of Social Backwardness by the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL) as well as the Marginalization Index of the National Population Council (CONAPO) are used to prioritize locations where there is no presence of the program.
2) Proxy means test: Families in condition of poverty according to the information registered in the System of Development Targeting (SIFODE).
3) Community: Localities with citizen demand registered by the National Coordination of Prospera.
4) Categorical: Criteria for program selection.
Unique Questionnaire of Socioeconomic Information (CUIS) and Complementary Information of Prospera registered in the Survey of Socioeconomic Characteristics of Households (CUIS-ENCASEH).
The registry of recipients is called Beneficiaries Register of the Prospera Program, which is made up of the Beneficiaries Base Register, which contains infomration on families eligible for the process of joining the Program and the Active Register of Beneficiaries, which contains the families incorporated to the Program and that remain active; as well as the families that have been dropped or suspended from the Register of Beneficiaries.
The information collected about the families through the CUIS is registered in the System of Development Targeting (SIFODE), which consolidates the socio-economic information of the Persons / Households and registers the information of the social assistance areas or social actors included in the Register of Beneficiaries. The information of the SIFODE is used by the Program for the targeting and identification of recipients.
The Register of Beneficiaries of the Program is incorporated into the Unique Register of Beneficiaries (PUB), which is a database that contains information on all the registers of persons, social actors and users populations of the social development programs. Likewise, this information is incorporated into the Integral System of Government Programs (SIPP-G), which is a tool that consolidates the information of recipients of the allowance programs under the Federal Government in a single database.
Recertification every 8 years. Prospera allows that, after overcoming poverty, families stay between 1 and 3 years in the Differentiated Support Scheme (Esquema Diferenciado de Apoyo - EDA). The length of stay in this scheme depends on whether the household maintains the demographic criteria (members under 22 years of age or women of reproductive age) and their estimated income per capita.
Transfers are subject to a biannual increase calculated according to the national consumer price index (CPI) of the basic basket, published by the Bank of Mexico.
For the selection of the areas to ce covered by the programme, all the areas of the country are taken into account, taking as reference the index of social backwardness established by Coneval, and the deprivation index established by Conapo.
Since 2012, the criteria for updating the programme support was modified: The National Index of Consummer Prices published by the Bank of Mexico was replaced by the index associated to the (urban and rural) Minimum Welfare Lines publicated by CONEVAL.
Institutionality
Decree that creates the National Coordination of Prospera, Programme of Social Inclusion (September 2014)
Ministry of Social Development (SEDESOL)
Coordinación Nacional de Prospera (National Coordination of Pospera)
The organism responsible for the Beneficiaries Registry of the Prospera Program is the National Prospera Coordination.
The SIFODE and the PUB are managed by the Ministry of Social Development (SEDESOL) through the General Directorate of Geostatistics and Beneficiary Lists (DGGPB)
The SIIPP-G is administered by the Ministry of Public Administration through the Public Management Control and Evaluation Unit (UCEGP)
Government of Mexico, World Bank (WB)
1) Food support
All participant households of the programme. The families of this component can be assigned to the supports schemes with and without co-responsibility.
Flat transfer
Cash withdrawal
Deposit in bank account
Bimonthly
Mother
One transfer per household
Health: Attendance at scheduled medical checks (for all household members, frequency differentiated according to age)
Food: Allocate support corresponding to household nourishment and consume nutritional supplements.
Others: attendance at health counseling.
Monthly suspension if the family does not attend health controls or counseling sessions. If the family does not withdraw food supplements or fortified milk, depending on the frequency with which service providers provide this information, In two consecutive bimesters. Permanent suspension if the recipient or other members of the household sell or exchange food supplements or fortified milk received from the programme.
The recipients have the assistance of the "Programa de Abasto Social de Leche", that enables families to buy low cost milk products with a high nutritional value.
MXN $315/monthly; see Data Excel Format
2) Support for school supplies
Families with children attending primary and secondary education
Transfer according to the characteristics of the recipient (increases according to the school grade attended)
Cash withdrawal
Deposit in bank account
Primary education: Twice a year, Secondary Education: Once a year.
Mother
One transfer per household
Education: 85% of school attendance
In schools attended by CONAFE transfer is in kind (school supplies)
Minimum amount of MXN $210 in the first delivery for year( the second is of MXN $110) and maximum amount of MXN $415 per year; see Selected figures
3) Education support
Families with children under 18 years old, attending primary, secondary and upper-middle school. The families of this component must be assigned to the Supports Scheme with Co-responsibility.
Transfer according to characteristics of the recipient (increases with school grade level and for women)
Cash withdrawal
Deposit in bank account
Bimonthly
Mother
Limit depends on the number of transfers received by the household
Education: School attendance (85% attendance).
Monthly suspension if students do not certify primary school attendance or if they accumulate a three-month suspension, or if they have 12 or more unexcused absences. For secondary school students if there is no certification of school attendance. Indefinite suspension if repeting the same course for the third time. Suspension is definitive if duplication of the recipient in the Integrated System of Registries is detected, if secondary school students have been receiving the state support for more than 4 years or drop out for two or more semesters, and if primary school students accumulate two annual suspensions because they have had 12 unjustified absences during the school year.
Minimum amount of MXN $165/monthly and maximum of MXN $1,285; see Selected figures
4) Food supplements
Children 4 to 23 months old
Children aged between 2 and 5 years with malnutrition
Pregnant / breastfeeding women (up to 1 year)
Others: Health counseling sessions attendance
Through the Integral Strategy of Nutrition Care, is delivered every two months new food supplements to reduce the malnutrition among the participants.
5) Health
All participant households. The families of this component must be assigned to the Supports Scheme with Co-responsibility.
Health: Preventive medical check ups attendance
Other: Health counseling sessions attendance
Monetary support may be suspended indefinitely, if in two consecutive semesters the household does not justify the health actions recorded in the National Health Card of all household members
Incorporation of a territoral approach to assist specific needs of the families. Also, there is a new vaccination scheme that includes the human papilloma virus (HPV).
6) Youth with Prosperity education grant
Students between 3rd year of junior high school and 4th year of high school
Deposit in bank account
At the conclusion of high school
Student
Youth must be active participant of Prospera programme and end high school before age 22
The participants that decide to reenrollment on a high school system, will not have the right to receive a new transfer.
MXN $ 4,599 and MXN $5,956 (in the urban model) once at the conclusion of high school; see Selected figures
7) Energy Subsidy
All participant households of the programme
Flat transfer
Cash withdrawal
Deposit in bank account
Bimonthly
Mother
One transfer per household
Others: Health counseling sessions attendance
Monthly suspension if the family does not attend health controls or counseling sessions.
Established 2007. Since 2012, the Energy Allowance was fusioned with the Food Support.
8) Old persons support
Adults over 70 years of age. The families of this component must be assigned to the Supports Scheme with Co-responsibility.
Flat transfer
Cash withdrawal
Deposit in bank account
Bimonthly
Direct participant
Limit amount by the number of transfers received by the household
Health: Assistance to health controls every 6 months
Definitive suspension if not attending health check-ups for two or more consecutive semesters, if the recipient of the "70 and over" pension, household abandonment, and death of the recipient.
Established in 2006. Incompatible with the "70 and over" programme.
MXN $345/monthly; see Data Excel format
9) Vivir Mejor food support component
All participant households of the programme
Flat transfer
Cash withdrawal
Deposit in bank account
Bimonthly
Mother
One transfer per household
Food: Allocate support corresponding to household nourishment and consume nutritional supplements.
Health: Health counseling sessions attendance
Monthly suspension if the family does not attend health controls or counseling sessions. If the family does not withdraw food supplements or fortified milk, depending on the frequency with which service providers provide this information. Definitive suspension in case of food supplements sale
Established in 2008, and consists on a temporary assistance to face the rising worldwide food prices. Since 2010, it operates through the Food Support Programme (PAL)
MXN $130/monthly; see Selected figures
10) Vivir Mejor child support component
Children between 0 and 9 years. The families of this component can be assigned to the supports schemes with and without co-responsibility.
Flat transfer
Cash withdrawal
Deposit in bank account
Bimonthly
Mother
One transfer per household
Targeting support for household food and nutritional supplements consumed
Identification: Birth certificate
Education: School enrollment (it does not apply to the families in the support scheme without co-responsibility)
Monthly suspension if the household does not attend health controls or counseling sessions. Definitive suspension if the child is a recipient of the educational support component of Oportunidades and in case of sale of dietary supplements.
Operated through the Food Support Program (PAL)
MXN $115/monthly with a maximum of thre supports per households (MXN $345); see Selected figures
11) Higher education scholarships
Young people with completed high school. The families of this component can be assigned to the supports schemes with and without co-responsibility.
12) Financial inclusion
Women living on participant households
13) Labour inclusion
Young people living in participant households, who are unemployed
14) Productive exits
Adults in working age, living in participant households
Why do conditional cash transfer programmes fail to target the poor? The case of urban areas in Mexico
Levasseur, P.
2021
CEPAL Review no. 133
Implementation research
Effect of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs When the Head of the Household Is Female in Mexico
Rubio-Sanchez, Y., Rodríguez-Juárez, E. and Polo, S.
2021
Journal of International Women's Studies, 22 (3), 3-12
Implementation research
Program Impact Pathways and Contexts: A Commentary on Theoretical Issues and Research Applications to Support the EsIAN Component of Mexico's Conditional Cash Transfer Program
Habicht, J-P and Pelto, G.
2019
The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 149, Issue Supplement_1, December 2019, Pages 2332S–2340S
Implementation research
A Fortified Food Can Be Replaced by Micronutrient Supplements for Distribution in a Mexican Social Protection Program Based on Results of a Cluster-Randomized Trial and Costing Analysis
Neufeld, L., García-Guerra, A., Quezada, A., Théodore, F., Bonvecchio, A., Domínguez, C., Garcia-Feregrino, R., Hernandez, A., Colchero, A. and Habicht, J.
2019
The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 149, Issue Supplement_1, December 2019, Pages 2302S–2309S
Implementation research
Sociocultural Influences on Poor Nutrition and Program Utilization of Mexico's Conditional Cash Transfer Program
Théodore, F., Bonvecchio Arenas, A., García-Guerra, A., Blanco García, I., Alvarado, R., Rawlinson, C., Neufeld, L. and Pelto, G.
2019
The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 149, Issue Supplement_1, December 2019, Pages 2290S–2301S
Implementation research
Closing the Nutrition Impact Gap Using Program Impact Pathway Analyses to Inform the Need for Program Modifications in Mexico’s Conditional Cash Transfer Program
García-Guerra, A., Neufeld, L., Bonvecchio Arenas, A., Fernández-Gaxiola, A., Mejía-Rodríguez, F., García-Feregrino, R. y Rivera-Dommarco, J.
2019
J Nutr 2019;149:2281S–2289S.
Evaluación de impacto
Impacts of PROSPERA on Enrollment, School Trajectories, and Learning
Behrman, J., Parker, S. and Todd, P.
2019
World Bank, Policy Research Working Paper 9000
Impact evaluation
Intergenerational Social Mobility Based on the Investments in Human Capital: Evidence of the Long-Term Results of PROSPERA in Health
Gutiérrez, J., Shamah-Levy, T., Bertozzi, S. and Rivera-Dommarco, J.
2019
SSRN Electronic Journal. Policy Research Working Paper 9001
Impact evaluation
Evaluation of Programs with Multiple Objectives: Multidimensional Methods and Empirical Application to Progresa in Mexico
Vaz, A., Malaeb, B. and Naïri, N.
2019
Research study, University of Oxford.
Research in progress series 55a
Impact evaluation
Long-Term Effects of PROSPERA on Welfare
Aguilar, A., Barnard, C. and De Giorgi, G.
2019
World Bank, Policy Research Working Paper 9002
Impact evaluation
El Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera, a 20 años de su creación.
Hernández Licona, G., De la Garza, T., Zamudio, J. and Yaschine, I. (coords.)
2019
Ciudad de México: CONEVAL.
Detailed historical information about the program and impact evaluations
Labor Market Equilibrium Effects of Cash Transfers: Evidence from a Structural Model and a Randomized Experiment
Lehmann, C.
2014
ANPEC: Area 13 - Economia do Trabalho
Evaluation model and impact evaluation
Digital financial services go a long way: transaction costs and financial inclusion
Bachas, P., Gertler, P., Higgins, S., and Seira, E.
2018
AEA Papers and Proceedings, Vol. 108, pp. 444–448.
Impact evaluation
Financial technology adoption
Higgins, S.
2018
Job market paper
Impact evaluation
The Targeting Benefit of Conditional Cash Transfers
Bergstrom, K. and Dodds, W.
2018
Job market paper
Impact evaluation
Improving Financial Inclusion through the Delivery of Cash Transfer Programmes: The Case of Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera Programme
Masino, S. and Niño-Zarazúa M.
2018
The Journal of Development Studies, online article
Impact evaluation
20 años después: Cambios y continuidades de PROSPERA desde la perspectiva de funcionarios y exfuncionarios gubernamentales de alto nivel y evaluadores externos al programa.
Triano, M.
2017
Working paper from Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social
General information
Poverty dynamics and graduation from conditional cash transfers: a transition model for Mexico’s Progresa-Oportunidades-Prospera program
Villa, J., and Niño-Zarazúa, M.
2018
The Journal of Economic Inequality
Impact evaluation
Do CCTs improve employment and earnings in the very long-term? Evidence from Mexico
Kugler, A. and Rojas, I.
2018
NBER Working Paper No. 24248
Impact evaluation
Debunking the Stereotype of the Lazy Welfare Recipient: Evidence from Cash Transfer Programs
Banerjee et al.
2017
The World Bank Research Observer, vol. 32, no. 2 (August 2017)
Impact evaluation
Cash transfer programmes, poverty reduction and women’s economic empowerment: Experience from Mexico
Mónica E. Orozco Corona and Sarah Gammage
2017
ILO Working paper No. 1/2017
Impact evaluation on female impowerment
Conditional Cash Transfers: The Case of Progresa/Oportunidades
Parker, S. and Todd, P.
2017
Journal of Economic Literature 2017, 55(3), 866–915 from American Economic Association
Impact evaluation
¿Cómo funciona Prospera? Mejores prácticas en la implementación de Programas de Transferencias Monetarias Condicionadas en América Latina y el Caribe
Dávila, L.
2016
Nota técnica No. IDB-TN-971
General Information