Cash aid program doesn’t widen kids’ career dreams

By Erika Mae P. Sinaking

THE GOVERNMENT’S flagship cash transfer program has not widened the career ambitions of children from poor households, according to a study released by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, even as beneficiaries continue to aspire to higher-paying professions.

In a discussion paper published Feb. 23, the state think tank said participation in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) has no measurable causal effect on children’s career aspirations.

“We find no detectable causal effect of 4Ps eligibility on children’s career aspirations,” authors Kris Ann M. Melad, Michael R. M. Abrigo, Douglas Kurt Gregor C. Diola and Centene V. Pablo said in the paper titled “Dreams and Small Means: Career Aspirations of Children in the Philippine 4Ps Program.”

Almost half of children surveyed, or 47.3%, said they aspire to professional careers, while 29.2% aim for service and sales jobs. But the probability of aspiring to professional or service occupations, as well as the income levels associated with children’s “dream jobs,” did not differ significantly between 4Ps beneficiaries and nonbeneficiaries, the study found.

The findings are based on data from 9,958 children aged 10 to 25. Of these, 5,218 came from 4Ps-eligible households and 4,740 from noneligible families. Researchers compared households that narrowly qualified for the program with those that narrowly missed the cutoff to isolate the program’s impact.

Among children from 4Ps households, the most cited dream job was police officer at 29.3%, followed by teacher at 26.8% and nurse at 9.4%. Commissioned armed forces officers (8.1%) and seafarers or ship deck crew (6.5%) rounded out the top five.

Engineering professionals, flight attendants, business service managers, medical doctors and chefs also featured prominently.

Children from non-4Ps households expressed nearly identical preferences. Teachers led at 28.9%, followed closely by police officers at 28.6% and nurses at 8%, underscoring minimal differences between the two groups.

The children’s ambitions contrast sharply with their parents’ occupations, which are concentrated in low-paying sectors such as agriculture and elementary work.

Based on estimates from the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, skilled agricultural and fishery workers earn about P316 daily, while workers in elementary occupations earn about P360.

By comparison, the professional occupations most aspired to by children are associated with estimated daily earnings of P1,071. Armed forces roles, the second-most aspired group, correspond to roughly P1,389 a day.

The study found that the strongest predictor of a child’s career aspiration was not 4Ps participation but parental expectations.

“When parents aspire for their child to become professional, children are substantially more likely to hold professional aspirations themselves,” the researchers said.

Gender gaps were also evident. Boys were much less likely to aspire to professional or service occupations, a disparity the authors said warrants closer policy attention.

Noncognitive traits such as grit, defined as perseverance toward long-term goals, and functional literacy were associated with a slightly higher likelihood of aspiring to professional careers, though their effects were modest compared with parental influence.

While earlier evaluations have shown that 4Ps improves school enrollment and educational attainment, the researchers said these gains have not translated into broader or more ambitious career goals.

They cited the possibility of a “scarcity mindset,” in which prolonged exposure to poverty narrows perceived opportunities even as financial constraints ease.

To address this, the authors recommended pairing cash transfers with career guidance, greater exposure to role models beyond children’s immediate communities and interventions aimed at raising parental expectations.

The 4Ps program is administered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development and covers millions of low-income households nationwide.