How Household Characteristics Shape Program Access and Asset Accumulation : A Mixed Method Analysis of the Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme in Rwanda

This paper assesses how household context and characteristics shape the welfare trajectory and more specifically the accumulation of productive assets among beneficiaries of the Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme in Rwanda, the government's flagship social assistance program. The analysis is based on a unique data set combining panel household survey data with in-depth qualitative interviews of a subsample of male and female beneficiaries from the survey data collected between 2009 and 2015. By combining quantitative and qualitative information, the paper draws a more nuanced picture of how household characteristics—structural and temporal—contextualize opportunities for poor men and women and their households and shape how well they can leverage access to the Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme to accumulate productive assets. The mixed method analysis reveals that household composition, gender power dynamics, disability, care responsibilities, marital arrangements, intrahousehold communication, and access to other social programs and institutions play a crucial role in access to the Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme and related asset accumulation. The findings suggest that households would benefit from a broader definition of the eligibility criteria and the availability of flexible and complementary programming, to reap the benefits of the income transfer received from the program.