The Prospera conditional cash transfer program and its impact on education, labor, and migration in an indigenous Mayan community in Chiapas, Mexico.

Abstract

Prospera, a Conditional Cash Transfer (CCTs) program in Mexico, provides recipients with cash contingent on three nodes of civic engagement: health, nutrition and education. This article examines the educational component of Prospera in La Gloria, in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. I utilize gender and culture of migration theories to explore the role gender plays in the educational, employment and migration outcomes of 31 high school students, and a smaller sample that pursued post-secondary education, six years after participating in the Prospera program. My findings raise questions about the ability of Prospera to ameliorate social inequalities, foster gender equity, and economic mobility among indigenous recipient households.