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PolicyResearchWorkingPaper10790

PoliciesforAspirations.AndOpportunities

No?lMullerAnnaFruttero

óscarCalvo-GonzálezJacobusdeHoop

WORLDBANKGROUP

LatinAmericaandtheCaribbeanRegionGenderInnovationLab

June2024

PolicyResearchWorkingPaper10790

Abstract

Policyinterventionsthatfosteraspirations,suchasthoseusingrolemodels,areincreasinglybeingimplementedsothatstudents,women,microentrepreneurs,farmers,andpoorindividualscanachieveuntappedopportunities.Severaloftheseinterventionshavesuccessfullyenhancededucationalachievements,labormarketparticipation,andbusinessactivities.However,raisingtheaspirationsofindividualswhentheydonothaveopportunitiestoreal-izethemcangeneratefrustrationandmakethemworseoff.Thispaperarguesthateffectivepolicyinterventionsneedtoaccountforbothaspirationsandopportunitiesand

proposesaframeworktoconsiderbothelements.Thepaperhighlightshowaddressingeitherelementinisolationcanleadtounfavorableoutcomes,suchasfallingintoanaspira-tiontrap(whenlowaspirationspreventpeoplefromseizingavailableopportunities),experiencingfrustration(whenaspirationsareenhancedwithoutmatchingopportunities),orremaininginapovertytrap(whenbothaspirationsandopportunitiesarelow).Thepaperdiscussesvariouspolicyapproachestoraisingaspirationsandopportunitiesinlightofthesescenariosandthechallengesofaligningthetwoelements.

ThispaperisaproductoftheGenderInnovationLab,LatinAmericaandtheCaribbeanRegion.ItispartofalargereffortbytheWorldBanktoprovideopenaccesstoitsresearchandmakeacontributiontodevelopmentpolicydiscussionsaroundtheworld.PolicyResearchWorkingPapersarealsopostedontheWebat

/prwp

.Theauthorsmaybecontactedatnoel.muller@hotmail.fr.

ThePolicyResearchWorkingPaperSeriesdisseminatesthefindingsofworkinprogresstoencouragetheexchangeofideasaboutdevelopmentissues.Anobjectiveoftheseriesistogetthefindingsoutquickly,evenifthepresentationsarelessthanfullypolished.Thepaperscarrythenamesoftheauthorsandshouldbecitedaccordingly.Thefindings,interpretations,andconclusionsexpressedinthispaperareentirelythoseoftheauthors.TheydonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheInternationalBankforReconstructionandDevelopment/WorldBankanditsaffiliatedorganizations,orthoseoftheExecutiveDirectorsoftheWorldBankorthegovernmentstheyrepresent.

ProducedbytheResearchSupportTeam

PoliciesforAspirations.AndOpportunities

*

No?lMuller,AnnaFruttero,óscarCalvo-González,andJacobusdeHoopWorldBank

Keywords:Aspirations,education,employment,poverty,gender.JEL:D91,I24,J24,O15,Z1

*WethankSamanthadeMartinoandSaraTroianofortheirvaluablecomments,andVijayendra‘Biju’Raoforinsightfulexchanges.Contacts:No?lMuller

(noel.muller@hotmail.fr)

,AnnaFruttero

(afruttero@)

,óscarCalvo-González

(ocalvogonzalez@)

,andJacobusdeHoop

(jdehoop@).

2

1.Introduction

Policyinterventionstobolstertheaspirationsofchildrenandadultshavegainedincreasingattentionandarebeingemployedtoachievebettereducational,labormarket,andbusinessoutcomes.Strategiesconsistofbroadeningthehorizonsofbeneficiariesandmotivatingthemusingrolemodelsamongstudents(forexample,Beamanetal.2012;Bredaetal.2023;Riley2024),farmers(Bernardetal.2022;Cecchietal.2022),andmicroentrepreneurs(Rojas,Wydick,andLybbert2022).Additionally,mentoringprogramshavebeenprovidedamongstudents(Carlana,LaFerrara,andPinotti2022);andgoal-settingworkshopshavebeenconductedformicroentrepreneurs(McKenzie,Mohpal,andYang2022).

Aspirationsrefertopeople’sdesiretoimprovetheirlives.Aspirationscanrelate,forinstance,topeople’sambitionstoenhancetheireducationlevel,typeofjob,wealth,orsocialstatus.Individualsdevelopandadapttheiraspirationsbasedontheircircumstancesandsocialenvironment.Inthebestcases,aspirationsrepresentchallengingbutattainablegoals.Intheworstcases,lowaspirationsareassociatedwithlimitedprospectsthatleadtomissedopportunitiesandcantrapindividualsinaviciouscycleofpovertyandweakendeavor(Appadurai2004;Dalton,Ghosal,andMani2016;Ray2006).

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Whilesignificantattentionhasbeenpaidtothepotentialbenefitofthepolicyinterventions,lessscrutinyhasbeengiventopotentialnegativeconsequences.A2018NewYorkTimescolumnsummarizingtheimpactsofsomeoftheseinterventionswasoptimisticallytitled“ThinkPositive,ClimbOutofPoverty?ItJustMightWork”(Jayachandran2018).However,thecolumntemperedthetitle’senthusiasm.Itacknowledgedthatfocusingonlyonaspirationscoulddivertattentionfromthecriticalneedtoensurecorrespondingopportunities,particularlyamongpeoplelivinginpoverty.

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Higheraspirationsdonotalwaysleadtobetteroutcomes,butmayinsteadleadtofrustration.Forinstance,astudyfoundthataspirationaltrainingprovidedtomicroentrepreneursinthePhilippinesinitiallytranslatedintomoreambitioussavingsgoals,butultimatelyledtosignificantlylowersavings,reducedborrowingandbusinessinvestment,andadecreasedsenseofcontrol(McKenzie,Mohpal,andYang2022).Theseoutcomeslikelyresultedfromfrustration:thefeelingofpowerlessnessinmeetingthemoreambitiousgoals.Thisfrustrationmayalsobecomemanifestatthecountrylevel.

1Forareviewoftheempiricalevidenceontheinfluenceofaspirationsoneducational,employment,andbusinessoutcomes,andonhowaspirationsareformed,seeFruttero,Muller,andCalvo-González(2024).

2“Hopeisn’tacure-all”,Jayachandranwrites.“Innoneoftheseexamplescanwebecertainthatitactuallyexplainsthegainsinpeople’sincomeoreducation.Andinstillinghopewithoutskillsorfinancialresourcesisunlikelytobeenoughtoliftpeopleoutofpoverty....Moreover,whilemoderatelyhighaspirationscanprovidecrucialmotivation,unrealisticallyhighaspirationscanbesodiscouragingthattheyareharmful.”

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Thus,higheraspirationsstemmingfromimprovededucationallevels,coupledwithstagnantjobopportunities,arebelievedtohavecontributedtoprotestsduringtheArabSpringin2011–12(CampanteandChor2012)andinChilein2011–13(Flechtner2017;Urzúa2012).Furthermore,hopelessnessandfrustratedaspirationscanarisebecauseofvariousshocks,suchasconflicts(MoyaandCarter2019),naturaldisasters(KosecandMo2017),andpandemics(Seageretal.2022).Intheory,frustratedaspirationsmay,inextremecases,contributetocrimeandconflict(Flechtner2017,2018;GenicotandRay2020;Ray2006,2016).

Thereisanotableshortageofstudiesthatcomprehensivelydelveintotheintricateinterplaybetweenaspirationsandopportunitiesinthedesignofinterventions.

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Whiletheoreticalstudieshavepreachedcautionaboutthepotentialpitfallsoffrustratedaspirations,theyoftenfallshortintheexaminationofin-depthpolicyconsiderations(Flechtner2017;GenicotandRay2020;Ray2006).Evenempiricalstudiesthatevaluateinterventionscenteredonaspirationsfrequentlyoverlookthepossiblerisksassociatedwithexclusivelynurturingaspirationswithouttakingopportunitiesintoaccount.

Thispaperintroducesastraightforwardframeworkforconsideringaspirationsandopportunitiestogetherthatrepresentsapracticaltoolforpolicymakersandresearchersalike.Itcontendsthatexitingpoverty,orimprovingeducational,labormarket,andbusinessoutcomes,whileavoidingfrustrationrequirestheachievementofadelicatebalancebetweenaspirationsandopportunities.Thisbalancecanbeattainedthroughinterventionsthatdeliberatelyfosteraspirationsandopportunitiessimultaneouslyorbyenhancingaspirationswithinanenvironmentthatpresentsviableandcredibleopportunities.Asanarrativereviewofalargeselectionofstudiesofpolicyinterventionsrelatedtoaspirations,thepaperalsoprovidesexamplesthatillustrateinstancesofbothbalanceandimbalancebetweenaspirationsandopportunities.

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Byproposingaframeworkandfocusingonpolicyinterventions,thepaperextendsapreviousreviewoftheeducational,employment,andbusinessoutcomesinfluencedbyaspirationsandofthedeterminantsofaspirations(Fruttero,Muller,andCalvo-González2024).Byencompassingbothaspirationsandopportunities,thispapergoesbeyondpreviousreviewsofpolicyinterventionsthatfocusprimarilyonaspirations(LaFerrara2019;LybbertandWydick2018,2022).Thepaperconcludeswithadiscussionrecognizingthatassessingopportunitiesmaynotalwaysbestraightforwardinpractice,andthatensuringbalancebetween

3“Opportunities”referstothecontextthatdeterminestheextenttowhichindividualscanachievetheiraspirations.Thismightinvolveeducationalresources,theavailabilityofjobs,businessopportunities,thesupportofgovernmentornongovernmentalorganizations,andsoon.

4Annex1describesthemethodologyforselectingthestudiesoninterventions.

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aspirationsandopportunitiesinpolicyinterventionsmaynotbeaguaranteeofsuccessgivenotheraspectsofpolicydesignandimplementation.

Thepaperisstructuredasfollows.Section2presentstheframeworkforconsideringaspirationsandopportunitiestogether.Section3discusseshowinterventionstofosteraspirations(andopportunities,forsome)mayhelpavoidthethreeunfavorableoutcomes.Section4discussestheframework’schallengesandconcludes.

2.Aframeworkforconsideringaspirationsand

opportunitiesjointly

Foralongtime,antipovertyinterventionstargetedexternalconstraints(alsocalledstructuralbarriers),i.e.thelackofresourcesthathinderindividualsfromachievingdesirableoutcomes.Theseinterventionsencompassedvariousapproaches,suchasprovidingcreditorloansforeducationorsmallbusinesses,supplyingcashorassettransfers,improvinginfrastructure,suchasroads,orofferingtrainingintechnicalskillsforemploymentorself-employment.Inessence,theseinterventionsweregearedtowardenhancingtheopportunitiesavailabletobeneficiaries.

Morerecently,anewwaveofantipovertyinterventionshasemergedthatseekstoaddressinternalconstraints(alsocalledbehavioralbarriers).Theseinternalconstraintsincludeissuesrevolvingaroundthementalburdensanddepressioninducedbypoverty(Ridleyetal.2020)aswellaslowaspirations(LaFerrara2019;LybbertandWydick2018,2022).

Tofacilitateamoreefficientapproachinthedesignofpolicyinterventions,thispaperproposesasimpleframeworkthatconsidersaspirationsandopportunitiestogether.Itaimstoclarifythedynamicrelationshipbetweenthesetwoelementssothatitcaninformthedesignofinterventions.Aninterventiondoesnotnecessarilyhavetoincorporatecomponentsthatexplicitlyaddressbothaspirationsandopportunities.Rather,itmayoperateinacontextwhereintargetingoneofthetwoelements—eitheraspirationsoropportunities—maybesufficienttoimproveoutcomes.Theproposedframeworkconsistsoffoursituations(figure1),threeofwhichareunfavorable.Thefollowingsubsectionsdescribethesefoursituations.

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Figure1.Aframeworktoanalyzetheinterplaybetweenaspirationsandopportunities

2.1.Alignment

Inthemostfavorablescenario,whichcorrespondstothetoprightquadrantinFigure1,individualspossesshighaspirationsinacontextcharacterizedbyplentifulopportunities.“Highaspirations”mayrefer,forinstance,tothegoalofachievingahigherlevelofeducationorwagesortoseekingawiderrangeofchoices,suchasmorediverseacademicfieldsandjobopportunities.Highaspirationsmotivatepeopletomakeaneffortandadoptchoicesthatpromotetheattainmentofachievablegoals(Dalton,Ghosal,andMani2016;GenicotandRay2017,2020;Ray2006).Individualsmaynotnecessarilyfulfilltheiraspirationsbecausetheseoftenrepresentideals,andattainmentmaydependonmultiplefactors.However,byseekingtofulfilltheseaspirations,individualsaremorelikelytoreachbetteroutcomes.

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2.2.Thepovertytrap

ThebottomleftquadrantinFigure1representsasituationinwhichindividualsgrapplewithlowaspirationsandlimitedopportunities,akintowhatisoftenreferredtoasapovertytrap(Balbonietal.,2022).Thelackofresourcesandthelackofopportunitiesintertwinetocreateaviciouscycleofdespair.Thiscyclepreventsindividualsfromnurturingaspirationsthatcouldpotentiallyleadtoanimprovementintheircircumstances(Appadurai2004;Dalton,Ghosal,andMani2016;LaFerrara2019;Ray2006).Consequently,theaspirationsoftheseindividualsremainlow,ultimatelyresultinginevenworseoutcomes.Forexample,inSouthAfrica,thereisevidenceofareciprocalrelationshipbetweenlowincomeanddepression,wherebyeachexacerbatestheother(Alloush2023).Becauseindividualstendtoformtheiraspirationsbasedontheimmediatecircumstancesandtheinfluenceofthesocialenvironment,thescarcityofmaterialresourcesandtheabsenceofinspiringmodelsamongpeerswhohavemanagedtoescapepovertycanstifletheaspirationsofindividualslivinginpoverty.

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2.3.Theaspirationtrap

Thetopleftquadrantoftheframeworkdepictedinfigure1representsthesituationknownasanaspirationtrap.

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Here,individualshaveaccesstoopportunities,suchasgood-qualityeducation,asufficientofferingofdecentjobs,andprospectsforbusinessdevelopmentandgrowth.However,theiraspirationsarelowerthanthegoalstheymightrealisticallyachieve.Inthiscase,boththeindividualandsocietyasawholemaynottakeadvantageoftheavailableopportunitiesandmaythusnotrealizetheirpotential.

Theaspirationtrapmaybecausedbythreekeyfactors,asfollows:

1.Lackofawareness:Someindividualsmaynotbeawareofthefullrangeofpotentialopportunities,suchasvariouseducationalpathsortypesofjobs.Thislackofawarenessparticularlyaffectsthepoorandpeoplelivinginremoteareas.Forexample,inFrance,awarenessofthemostpromisingeducationalpathwaystendstobelesswidespreadamongstudentsfromlower-incomebackgroundsthanamongtheirmorewell-offpeers(GuyonandHuillery2021).Thisispartly

5Ray(2006)andGenicotandRay(2020)havenamedtherelevantgroupthatshapesone’saspirationsthe“aspirationswindow”.Itisdeterminedbythebroadgroupofindividualswithwhichoneidentifiesaccordingtoanindefinitelistofelementsofidentityonecaresabout(e.g.placeofliving,skincolor,gender,religion,country,wealth,etc.).

6Someresearchers,suchasFlechtner(2014)andLaFerrara(2019),usetheterm“aspirationtrap”morebroadlytorefertosituationswherebylowaspirationscanleadtounderachievement.Thiswouldthereforealsoincludethesituationwerefertoas“povertytrap”.

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becausepoorerchildrenhavefewerrolemodelswhotakethemostpromisingeducationalpathways(Ray2006).

2.Lowself-confidence:Peoplemayincorrectlybelievethattheyareincapableofachievingmoreambitiousoutcomes.Thismayderivefromaself-reinforcingcombinationofrestrictivesocialnorms,negativestereotypes,andalackofrolemodels.Forinstance,thescarcityofwomenintraditionallymale-dominatedfieldscandiscouragewomenstudentsfrompursuingcareersinthesefields(Beamanetal.2012;Bredaetal.2023;DelCarpioandGuadalupe2022).AnotherexampleisthatwomenwithstrongabilitiesinmathematicsintheUnitedStatestendtounderestimatetheirmathematicsskillsandavoidpursuingmajorsinscience,technology,engineering,andmathematics(STEM),despitethelargereturnstosuchdegrees(Saltiel2023).InItaly,girlsinmiddleschoolaremorelikelytoperceivetheirowngenderandtheirabilitiesasbarrierstotheachievementoftheireducationalgoals(CarlanaandFort2021).AlsoinItaly,immigrantstudentsaremorelikelytooptforavocationaltrackaftermiddleschoolinsteadoftracksleadingtomorewell-payingjobs,eveniftheyhaveexhibitedtherelevantacademicability(Carlana,LaFerrara,andPinotti2022).InFrance,poorerstudentstendtounderestimatetheirabilitytopursuetopeducationalpathways,whichexplainshalfoftheaspirationgapbetweenthemandtheirricherpeers.Lessawarenessofeducationaloptions,incontrast,explainsonlyaquarterofthegap(GuyonandHuillery2021).

3.Deliberatechoice:Someindividualsmaybeawareofopportunitiesandfeelcapableofpursuingthem,butchoosenottodosotoavoidsocialisolation(GuyonandHuillery2021),orforotherreasons.Giventhatrestrictivesocialnormsareslowtochange,minoritiesmaybereluctanttoentercertainfieldstoavoiddiscriminatoryworkenvironments.Forexample,girlsmaychoosenottopursueSTEMcareerstoavoidmale-dominatedfields,whilemigrantstudentsmayavoidfieldswithfewermigrantworkersand,therefore,morechanceofdiscrimination.

Teachersmayplayaroleintransmittingnegativestereotypesevenunconsciously,whichmaythuspromoteaself-fulfillingprophecy.StudieshaveshownthatteacherswhoholdstrongergenderstereotypesmaynegativelyinfluencetheacademicperformanceofgirlsinChina(EbleandHu2020),India(RakshitandSahoo2023),Italy(Carlana2019),andTürkiye(Alan,Ertac,andMumcu2018).InItaly,thesestereotypeshavebeenshowntoleadgirls,followingthetrackrecommendationoftheirteachers,toself-selectintolessdemandinghighschools(Carlana2019).InPeru,alab-in-the-fieldexperimentshowedhowstereotypesaboutstudents’wealthaffectedthegradingofteachers(Farfan,Holla,andVakis2021).Afterwatchinganintroductoryvideoportrayingeitheravisiblypoororrichchild,teachershadtoevaluatetheperformanceofthechildonanoralexamshowninasubsequent

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video.Teachersassessedtheacademicaptitudeandbehaviorofpoorstudentslessfavorably.IntheUnitedStates,whiteteacherssometimesexhibitlowerexpectationsinthechancesofcollegecompletionamongblackstudents,whichcausallyreducesthelikelihoodthatblackstudentscompletecollege(Papageorge,Gershenson,andKang2020).

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Interventionsaimedsolelyatincreasingopportunitieswithoutaddressingtheaspirationsofbeneficiariescaninadvertentlyleadindividualstotransitionfromapovertytraptoanaspirationtrap(Duflo2012).Intheory,incountrieswithhighinequalityandlowperceivedsocialmobility,thegapbetweentheleastwelloffandthemorewelloffmaybelarge,limitingtheaspirationsoftheformerandpreventingthemfromtakingadvantageofexistingopportunities(GenicotandRay2017,2020;

Ray2016).

2.4.Frustration

Afrustrationtrapoccursifanindividualhashighaspirationsbutlackssufficientopportunitiestoachievethem,correspondingtothebottomrightquadrantoftheframeworkdisplayedinFigure1.Thismayoccurforseveralreasons,asfollows.

1.Interventionsthatintentionallyaimtoraiseaspirationswhilefailingtoprovidecommensurateopportunities:Forexample,microentrepreneursinthePhilippineswhoreceivedaspirationaltrainingwithinamicrocreditborrowinggroupsethighersavingsgoalsbutachievedonlyasmallfractionofthegoals(about5percent).Thisledtolowerborrowingandbusinessinvestmentandadecreasedsenseofcontrolovertheirlivesbecausetheybecamefrustratedattheirinabilitytomeettheirambitiousgoals(McKenzie,Mohpal,andYang2022).

2.Interventionsthatinadvertentlyboostaspirations:Forinstance,ajobtrainingprogramforyouthintheDominicanRepublicraisedexpectationsamongmenbeneficiariesthattheywouldobtainbetteremploymentandlivingstandardsbutfailedinraisingtheiremployment,therebyleadingtofrustrationandlowerself-esteem(Acevedoetal.2020).

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Womenbeneficiariesendedupwitha

7Theeffectoncollegecompletionamongblackstudentsmayderivefromthenegativeimpactontheviewsofthestudentsontheireducationalprospects.Alternativeexplanationsarethatteacherexpectationsaffecttheopportunitiesofstudentsby,forexample,writingstronger(weaker)lettersofrecommendationforcollege,oritmaybethatteachersteachandrelatedifferentlytowhiteandblackstudents(Papageorge,Gershenson,andKang2020).

8Thestudymeasuresexpectations(ofimprovementinemploymentopportunitiesandlivingstandards),whicharedistinctyetrelatedtoaspirations.Expectationsaretheoutcomespeoplefeeltheywillmostlikelyachievegiventheirperceivedsituationandthebarrierstheyface,whileaspirationsarepeople’sidealsforthefuture.Onemaythusviewexpectationsasalowerboundofpotentialaspirations(Fruttero,Muller,andCalvo-González2024).

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betteremploymentsituationanddidnotexperiencethefrustration.Thecancellationofanticipatedpolicyinterventionscanalsoleadtofrustration.ThisisapparentinSouthSudanwhenyouthwhoexpectedtoreceivebusinessgrantsthatwerenotdeliveredreducedtheirconsumptionandreportedlowerlevelsoftrust(Budjan,Pape,andRalston2022).

3.Peer-inducedfrustration:Witnessingpeers'achievementsandimprovementsintheirwell-beingmayinitiallyraiseobservers'aspirationsbuteventuallyleadtofrustration.Forexample,ahousinginterventioninslumsinElSalvador,Mexico,andUruguayinitiallyinspirednonbeneficiaryneighborstoaspiretosimilarhousingimprovements.However,thehigheraspirationseventuallydisappearedandwerereplacedbyfrustrationasthehousingimprovementscametobeviewedasunattainable(Galiani,Gertler,andUndurraga2021).

4.Largeshocks:Majorshocks,suchaseconomiccrises,epidemics,conflict,andnaturaldisasters,maygeneratefrustration.Forinstance,duringtheCOVID-19pandemicinBangladesh,themotivationforlearningandtheaspirationforhighereducationdeclined,particularlyamonggirls(Seageretal.2022).Conflictandnaturaldisastershavealsocrushedhopeandaspirations(KosecandMo2017;MoyaandCarter2019).

5.Macroeconomicfactors:Frustratedaspirationsmaybedrivenbyandgeneratemacro-leveloutcomes.Forexample,economicgrowthoranincreaseineducationalattainmentmayfosterhigheraspirations,whichmayevolveintofrustrationifcountry-leveloutcomesdonottranslateintohigherindividualwelfare(GenicotandRay2017,2020;Ray2006).Frustrationfueledbyimprovementsineducationoutcomeswithoutcorrespondingeconomicopportunitiesmaythendevolveintocountry-levelunrest.ThispatternisconsideredtohavebeenadriverofprotestsinChileandTunisiaintheearly2010s(CampanteandChor2012;Flechtner2017;Urzúa2012).

Empiricalstudiesoffercasesinwhichaspirationsdonotmaterialize—orarelikelynotto—andarelikelytoculminateinfrustration.Forinstance,longitudinalstudiesinEthiopia,India,Peru,andVietNamshowthatonlyonechildinthreewhoaspirestocompleteuniversityorpostgraduatestudiesatage12hadeithercompleteduniversityorremainedenrolledbyage22(Favara,Chang,andSánchez2018).InTheGambia,householdswithhighaspirationsfortheirchildreninvestmoreineducation(intermsofbothfinancialresourcesandtheirchildren’stime),leadingtoonlyslightlyhigherperformanceonliteracyandnumeracyteststhreeyearslatercomparedwithotherchildren(EbleandEscueta2023).Thismodestimprovementinperformancemaynotbesufficienttoachievemeaningfullevelsoflearning,potentiallyleadingtolimitedchoicesandfrustratedaspirationslaterinlife.

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3.Interventionsagainstpovertytraps,aspirationtraps,

andfrustration

NumerousrecentstudiesprovideexamplesofindividualstransitioningbetweenquadrantswithintheframeworkillustratedinFigure1.Thissectionexploresinterventionsthatsupportbeneficiariesinbreakingfreefromthepovertytrapandstrategiesforescapingtheaspirationstrap.Itthendiscussestheprinciplesofpoliciestopreventfrustratedaspirations.

3.1.Exitingthepovertytrap

Effectiveinterventionsaimedatindividualsmiredinpovertyandensnaredinacycleoflimitedopportunitiesandaspirationsmustaddressopportunitiesandaspirationssimultaneously.Oneapproachtoachievingthisinvolvestheintegrationofcomponentsexplicitlytargetingopportunitiesandaspirationswithinasingleintervention.Thissubsectionpresentsvariouspolicyinterventionsthatadoptthisapproach.However,thisisnottheonlywaytoachieveresults.Introducinganewopportunitythroughaninterventioncanalsobeeffectiveifitsimultaneouslyintentionallyorunintentionallyincreasesaspirations.

Cashtransfersandinteractionswithprofessionalsandlocalleaders

Conditionalcashtransfers(CCTs)inColombiaandMexicoserveassuccessfulexamplesofinterventionsthateffectivelyenhancebothopportunitiesandaspirations.CCTsareamongthemostprominentsocialassistanceprogramtoolsinlow-andmiddle-incomecountries.Theyaresubsidiesinkindorincashthatgotopoorhouseholdsontheconditionthatthehouseholdsundertakeregularmedicalcheckupsandensurethatanychildrenattendschool.ThenationalCCTprogramsinColombiaandMexicohaveraisedtheaspirationsoftheirbeneficiariesinpartbyfacilitatinginteractionswitheducationandhealthprofessionalswhohaveprovidedinfor