When Zambia replicated Bihar's programme to give bicycles to school girls

A recent study of the impact of two programmes that provided bicycles to schoolgirls, one in Bihar and the other in Zambia, has noted that these initiatives proved to be more efficient in achieving their objectives compared to direct cash transfers.

 

The Zambian programme was launched in 2009, three years after the Bihar initiative to empower schoolgirls (2006) and with similar objectives. However, as the study found, there were also some unintended consequences of the schemes, especially in rural Zambia.

 

According to recent follow-up research on the Zambian programme, the distribution of bicycles to schoolgirls improved socioeconomic status and reduced