Liberia’s Dual-Partner Cash Transfer Experiment Shows Economic Gains and Mixed Violence Outcomes

In 2022, the Liberian government, the World Bank, and the nonprofit GiveDirectly launched a cash-transfer pilot in Maryland and Bomi counties. More than 2,300 households received a total of $750 each, paid in four installments, with the amount split equally between spouses. The program added a joint-financial-planning session for half of the participants, aiming to boost income and ease household tension in a nation where nearly 35 % of women report intimate-partner violence, above the global average of 27 %.

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The experiment built on Liberia’s long-standing cash-aid model that typically gives $250 per household per year to a single female head. Researchers created a 45-minute planning interview, during which couples listed up to four spending priorities on a poster illustrated with pictures and empty boxes. Stickers (books for education, a stethoscope for health) helped low-literacy participants record choices. Posters were left on walls as visual reminders of the agreed plan.

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Follow-up after one year showed that households receiving the planning session achieved higher economic gains than those receiving cash alone. However, among couples previously identified as high-risk for violence, the same planning component coincided with an increase in reported intimate-partner violence. Researchers suggest that deviations from the jointly set plan or a shift in decision-making power toward women may have triggered conflict. For the majority of couples, no new violence incidents were reported.

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Aurelius Butler, Liberia’s national coordinator for social protection, explained that targeting women was intended to give them economic control, while acknowledging that some men felt excluded. Sarika Gupta, senior economist at the World Bank, highlighted the economic benefits of joint planning but noted the unintended rise in violence among vulnerable couples. Amber Peterman, an impact-evaluation specialist at UNICEF, called the findings “valuable” and urged refinement of the planning element before scaling up.

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• “One of our key design components is that we target the female in the house,” — Aurelius Butler

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• “A lot of the men reported that they felt like they were being excluded,” — Aurelius Butler

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• “Households that received the planning actually were even better off economically than households who received only the cash transfer,” — Sarika Gupta

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• “It is quite clear that it's something in the shift about couples deciding together [that led to the increase in violence],” — Amber Peterman

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