Stuck exchange: can cash transfers push smallholders out of autarky?

This paper focuses on the role of unconditional cash transfers in helping smallholders’ commercialization by overcoming barriers to trade from transaction costs. We use data from a controlled experiment for the evaluation of the Child Grant model in Zambia. We employ a Heckman model that allows us to capture the effects of the program on the propensity to engage in trade in both inputs and outputs markets as well as on the value of trade. The cash transfer program contributes significantly to increase farmers’ commercialization. The program produced greater benefits for those households that face more binding transaction costs from transportation and information gathering.