Unconditional cash transfer

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Unconditional cash transfer (UCT) programs are philanthropic programs that aim to reduce poverty by providing financial welfare without any conditions upon the receivers' actions. [1] This differentiates them from conditional cash transfers where the government (or a charity) only transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria. [2] Unconditional cash transfers have developed on the premise that giving cash to citizens allows them to have autonomy over their own lives. [3]

Contents

Types

Unconditional cash transfers could vary in a number of ways: [4]

Programs and organizations involved

SOPREON

A payment process using mobile phones was adapted to the complication that 90 percent of the supposed beneficiaries did not have a mobile phone. Instead they were entitled to a SIM card for a mobile phone. The SIM card was, in essence, an entitlement for an amount of money on a given date. The payment process in this case meant bringing the SIM card to a recognized economic center in a community that was nearest to the individual who did not have a mobile phone. There, at the economic center, would be a mobile phone for the SIM card. This adaptation ensured that individuals obliged to cash payment transfers received them efficiently. Concerns about the pricing factor of one mobile phone in the economic center being read by one individual were addressed. [5]

GiveDirectly

The largest organization exclusively devoted to cash transfers is GiveDirectly. GiveDirectly was founded by economics graduate students in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with two main inspirations: the growing evidence that cash transfers could work, and the growth of cheap and reliable money transfer technology.[ citation needed ] GiveDirectly's operations were initially limited to Kenya, where the m-Pesa money transfer system is well-established. In November 2013, the organization expanded to Uganda. [6]

Charity evaluator GiveWell first noticed GiveDirectly in July 2011, [7] named it as a standout charity in November 2011, and gave it top charity status starting November 2012. GiveDirectly has been a GiveWell top charity in the years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. [8] Largely as a result of GiveWell's recommendation, Good Ventures, the private foundation of Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna, that works closely with GiveWell, has donated well over $40 million to GiveDirectly (in grant sizes of $7 million, $5 million, $25 million, and $9.8 million). [9]

An impact evaluation of GiveDirectly's cash transfer program was conducted in collaboration with GiveDirectly, with the working paper released in October 2013, later published in 2016 after peer review. [10]

The paper attracted commentary from World Bank economist David McKenzie. He praised the robustness of the study's design and the clear disclosure of the study lead's conflict of interest, but raised two concerns: [4]

Chris Blattman, a prominent blogger and academic in the area of development economics, with a particular focus on randomized controlled trials, also blogged the study. He expressed two main reservations: [11]

These concerns were in part addressed by other studies. A follow-up of the above study finds net positive spillovers at the community level from unconditional cash transfers. [12] Another study finds beneficial effects of unconditional cash transfer programs not only in self-reported outcomes, but also in health outcomes like body weight and biomass. [13]

The CALP Network

The CALP Network (CALP) global network of organisations engaged in policy, practice and research in humanitarian cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and financial assistance more broadly. Members currently include local and international non-governmental organisations, United Nations agencies, the Red Cross/Crescent Movement, donors, specialist social innovation, technology and financial services companies, researchers and academics, and individual practitioners. [14] Their website includes a number of studies on unconditional cash transfers, with a particular focus on cash transfers made in the aftermath of natural disasters. Salient examples include: [15]

The Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network (ELAN) within CaLP has also worked with Mercy Corps, and Humanitarian Policy Group (HPG) on case studies for humanitarian electronic transfer projects in Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh. These case studies Examine the extent to which:

Other programs

A blog post by Vishnu Prasad for the Institute for Financial Management and Research summarized existing research on unconditional cash transfers, citing studies around the following programs: [21]

Reception

Use as a benchmark

Jeremy Shapiro, a GiveDirectly co-founder and the person who published GiveDirectly's impact evaluation, has argued for using cash transfers (and more specifically, unconditional cash transfers) as a benchmark against which other development interventions should be evaluated, due to the simplicity and scalability of cash transfers. [22]

Others who have also endorsed the idea of using cash transfers as a benchmark, citing GiveDirectly, include Innovations for Poverty Action [2] and GiveWell. [23]

Media discussion

Since 2012, there have been a number of media pieces discussing cash transfers, generally in the context of reporting on GiveDirectly. This includes coverage in the New York Times , [24] The Economist , [25] the Freakonomics radio podcast, [26] and Forbes . [27]

Evaluations of intervention impact

A team of the Cochrane Collaboration including researchers from Cornell University, Harvard University, and the Universities of Bremen and Otago conducted the first comprehensive systematic review of the health impact of unconditional cash transfers. The review of 21 studies, including 16 randomized controlled trials, found that although unconditional cash transfers may not improve health services use, they lead to a large and clinically meaningful reduction in the likelihood of being sick by an estimated 27%. Unconditional cash transfers may also improve food security and dietary diversity. Children in recipient families may be more likely to attend school, and the cash transfers may increase money spent on health care. [28] An update of this landmark review in 2022 confirmed these findings based on a grown body of evidence and additionally found sufficient evidence that unconditional cash transfers may also reduce the likelihood of living in extreme poverty. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme poverty</span> Condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs

Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services". Historically, other definitions have been proposed within the United Nations.

Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. For example, a person's income in an economic sense may be different from their income as defined by law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile payment</span> Payment services via a mobile device

Mobile payment, also referred to as mobile money, mobile money transfer and mobile wallet, is any of various payment processing services operated under financial regulations and performed from or via a mobile device. Instead of paying with cash, cheque, or credit card, a consumer can use a payment app on a mobile device to pay for a wide range of services and digital or hard goods. Although the concept of using non-coin-based currency systems has a long history, it is only in the 21st century that the technology to support such systems has become widely available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transaction account</span> Bank holding that clients can access on demand

A transaction account, also called a checking account, chequing account, current account, demand deposit account, or share account at credit unions, is a deposit account or bank account held at a bank or other financial institution. It is available to the account owner "on demand" and is available for frequent and immediate access by the account owner or to others as the account owner may direct. Access may be in a variety of ways, such as cash withdrawals, use of debit cards, cheques and electronic transfer. In economic terms, the funds held in a transaction account are regarded as liquid funds. In accounting terms, they are considered as cash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aid</span> Voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty reduction</span> Measures to reduce poverty permanently

Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social determinants of health</span> Economic and social conditions that influence differences in health status

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Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs aim to reduce poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the receivers' actions. The government only transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria. These criteria may include enrolling children into public schools, getting regular check-ups at the doctor's office, receiving vaccinations, or the like. CCTs seek to help the current generation in poverty, as well as breaking the cycle of poverty for the next through the development of human capital. Conditional cash transfers could help reduce feminization of poverty.

A cash transfer is a direct transfer payment of money to an eligible person. Cash transfers are either unconditional cash transfers or conditional cash transfers. They may be provided by organisations funded by private donors, or a local or regional government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M-Pesa</span> Mobile banking service

M-PESA is a mobile phone-based money transfer service, payments and micro-financing service, launched in 2007 by Vodafone and Safaricom, the largest mobile network operator in Kenya. It has since expanded to Tanzania, Mozambique, DRC, Lesotho, Ghana, Egypt, Afghanistan, South Africa and Ethiopia. The rollouts in India, Romania, and Albania were terminated amid low market uptake. M-PESA allows users to deposit, withdraw, transfer money, pay for goods and services, access credit and savings, all with a mobile device.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social protection</span> Anti-poverty policies and programs

Social protection, as defined by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, is concerned with preventing, managing, and overcoming situations that adversely affect people's well-being. Social protection consists of policies and programs designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by promoting efficient labour markets, diminishing people's exposure to risks, and enhancing their capacity to manage economic and social risks, such as unemployment, exclusion, sickness, disability, and old age. It is one of the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 10 aimed at promoting greater equality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hormuud Telecom</span> Somalian telecommunications company

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal basic income</span> Welfare system of unconditional income

Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive a minimum income in the form of an unconditional transfer payment, i.e., without a means test or need to work. In contrast a guaranteed minimum income is paid only to those who do not already receive an income that is enough to live on. A UBI would be received independently of any other income. If the level is sufficient to meet a person's basic needs, it is sometimes called a full basic income; if it is less than that amount, it may be called a partial basic income. As of 2024, no country has implemented a full UBI system, but two countries—Mongolia and Iran—have had a partial UBI in the past. There have been numerous pilot projects, and the idea is discussed in many countries. Some have labelled UBI as utopian due to its historical origin.

The social protection floor (SPF) is the first level of protection in a national social protection system. It is a basic set of social rights derived from human right treaties, including access to essential services and social transfers, in cash or in kind, to guarantee economic security, food security, adequate nutrition and access to essential services.

GiveDirectly is a nonprofit organization operating in low income areas that helps families living in extreme poverty by making unconditional cash transfers to them via mobile phone. GiveDirectly transfers funds to people in Bahamas, Bangladesh, DRC, Liberia, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, USA, and Yemen.

Universal basic income in India refers to the debate and practical experiments with universal basic income (UBI) in India. The greatest impetus has come from the 40-page chapter on UBI that the Economic Survey of India published in January 2017. It outlined the three themes of a proposed UBI programme:

Venmo is an American mobile payment service founded in 2009 and owned by PayPal since 2013. Venmo is aimed at users who wish to split their bills. Account holders can transfer funds to others via a mobile phone app; both the sender and receiver must live in the United States. Venmo also operates as a small social network, as users can observe other users' public transactions with posts and emoticons. In 2021, the company handled $230 billion in transactions and generated $850 million in revenue. Users can view transactions on the Venmo website but cannot complete transactions on the website.

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In the realm of humanitarian aid, Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) is recognized as an umbrella term for two of the common modalities of assistance for delivering swift and flexible humanitarian aid support to populations affected by various crises, the third being in-kind assistance.

Social Income is a nonprofit organization based in Switzerland that provides unconditional cash transfers via mobile phone to people living in multidimensional poverty in West Africa. Since 2020, Social Income has been running an open-ended universal basic income program in Sierra Leone.

References

  1. ↑ Pega, Frank; Walter, Stefan; Liu, Sze Yan; Pabayo, Roman; Lhachimi, Stefan K.; Saith, Ruhi (2014). "Unconditional cash transfers for reducing poverty and vulnerabilities: effect on use of health services and health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011135. S2CID   247776585.
  2. 1 2 "Cash Transfers: Changing the Debate on Giving Cash to the Poor". Innovations for Poverty Action. 2015-07-06. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ "The Benefits and Drawbacks of Unconditional Cash Transfer - The Atlas Business Journal". The Atlas Business Journal. 2016-12-14. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  4. 1 2 McKenzie, David (October 27, 2013). "Some thoughts on the Give Directly Impact Evaluation". World Bank . Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  5. ↑ Ayala, Fransisco V. (January 15, 2024). "Cash Transfers for Poverty Reduction Global Development Institute Podcast". University of Manchester . Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  6. ↑ Mukhopadhyaya, Piali (2013-11-20). "GiveDirectly is in Uganda!". GiveDirectly (blog). Retrieved 2013-11-21.
  7. ↑ Karnofsky, Holden (July 21, 2011). "A charity to watch: GiveDirectly". GiveWell. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  8. ↑ "GiveDirectly" . Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Grants Database". Good Ventures . Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  10. ↑ Shapiro, Jeremy (15 June 2021). "The Short-term Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers to the Poor: Experimental Evidence from Kenya" (PDF). Quarterly Journal of Economics. 131: 2057–2060 – via Author's website.
  11. ↑ Blattman, Chris (October 25, 2013). "And the cashonistas rejoice" . Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  12. ↑ Egger, Dennis; Haushofer, Johannes; Miguel, Edward; Niehaus, Paul; Walker, Michael (2019). General Equilibrium Effects of Cash Transfers: Experimental Evidence from Kenya (Report). Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. doi:10.3386/w26600.
  13. ↑ McIntosh, Craig; Zeitlin, Andrew (2021). "Cash versus Kind: Benchmarking a Child Nutrition Program against Unconditional Cash Transfers in Rwanda". arXiv: 2106.00213 [econ.GN].
  14. ↑ "About us". The Cash Learning Partnership. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Search for unconditional cash transfer on the Cash Learning Partnership website" . Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  16. ↑ "UNICEF's Alternative Responses for Communities in Crisis (ARCC) programme – The largest Humanitarian Multi-Purpose Unconditional Cash Transfer Program in the DRC". The Cash Learning Partnership. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  17. ↑ Grasset, Julia (May 7, 2014). "CaLP case study - Unconditional cash transfers to reduce food insecurity for displaced households and assist in the repatriation of people to their villages of origin - Niger" . Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Unconditional Cash Grants for Relief and Recovery in Rizal and Laguna, The Philippines (Post-Typhoon Ketsana)". The Cash Learning Partnership. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  19. ↑ "(CaLP/ELAN - Electronic transfers in humanitarian assistance and uptake of financial services" . Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  20. ↑ "(REPORT) Electronic transfers in humanitarian assistance and uptake of financial services: a synthesis of ELAN case studies" (PDF). Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  21. ↑ Prasad, Vishnu (December 26, 2012). "Unconditional Cash Transfers – What does research say?". Institute for Financial Management and Research . Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  22. ↑ Shapiro, Jeremy (November 24, 2014). "More than money: How cash transfers can transform international development". World Bank . Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  23. ↑ Rosenberg, Josh (August 3, 2015). "Good Ventures' $25 million grant to GiveDirectly" . Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  24. ↑ Goldstein, Jacob (2013-08-13). "Is It Nuts to Give to the Poor Without Strings Attached?". New York Times . Retrieved 2013-08-13.
  25. ↑ "Pennies from heaven: Giving money directly to poor people works surprisingly well. But it cannot deal with the deeper causes of poverty". The Economist . 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
  26. ↑ Lechtenberg, Suzie (November 27, 2013). "Fighting Poverty With Actual Evidence: A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast". Freakonomics . Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  27. ↑ Dolan, Kerry (2013-05-28). "Why Facebook Cofounder Chris Hughes And Google Are Giving Cash Directly To The Poorest". Forbes . Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  28. ↑ Pega, Frank; Liu, Sze; Walter, Stefan; Pabayo, Roman; Saith, Ruhi; Lhachimi, Stefan (2017). "Unconditional cash transfers for reducing poverty and vulnerabilities: effect on use of health services and health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 11 (4): CD011135. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011135.pub2. PMC   6486161 . PMID   29139110.
  29. ↑ Pega, Frank; Pabayo, Roman; Benny, Claire; Lee, Eun-Young; Lhachimi, Stefan; Liu, Sze (2022). "Unconditional cash transfers for reducing poverty and vulnerabilities: effect on use of health services and health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries". Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2022 (3): CD011135. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011135.pub3. PMC   8962215 . PMID   35348196.
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