Just Give Money to the Poor: The Development Revolution from the Global South

by Joseph Hanlon, Armando Barrientos

* Argues strongly for overlooked approach to development by showing how the poor use money in ways that confound stereotypical notions of aid and handouts
* Team authored by foremost scholars in the development field

Amid all the complicated economic theories about the causes and solutions to poverty, one idea is so basic it seems just give money to the poor. Despite its skeptics, researchers have found again and again that cash transfers given to significant portions of the population transform the lives of recipients. Countries from Mexico to South Africa to Indonesia are giving money directly to the poor and discovering that they use it wisely – to send their children to school, to start a business and to feed their families.

Directly challenging an aid industry that thrives on complexity and mystification, with highly paid consultants designing ever more complicated projects, Just Give Money to the Poor offers the elegant southern alternative – bypass governments and NGOs and let the poor decide how to use their money. Stressing that cash transfers are not charity or a safety net, the authors draw an outline of effective practices that work precisely because they are regular, guaranteed and fair. This book, the first to report on this quiet revolution in an accessible way, is essential reading for policymakers, students of international development and anyone yearning for an alternative to traditional poverty-alleviation methods.

Genres: Nonfiction, Economics, Politics, Poverty, International Development, Political Science, Africa

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2010

Reviews

[Bagus]

This book offers a mind-blowing idea that is self-evident in its title "Just Give Money to the Poor". The authors argue that there are three new compelling ideas in the past decade to reduce poverty in developing countries. First, the poor need access to savings and asset accumulation services as much as they need access to credit. Second, providing conditional cash transfers (CCTs) to reward the poor with payments if they satisfy the conditions set by the governments, NGOs, and donors which roughly translate into: keep their kids at school, take them to the doctor, eat the right foods, etc. The third one is the most controversial yet expansive idea throughout this book: to just give the money to the poor. I was hooked instantly by the title and the idea seems to change my mindset entirely in viewing this approach which was implemented in Indonesia in the form of Bantuan Langsung Tunai (BLT) in the last decade.

The authors begin with a historical explanation of why the North model which accuses the poor as partially (or sometimes, totally) to blame for their own poverties continue to thrive in the approaches taken by international aid agencies and many US-based institutions. This particular view poses some challenges as the blame put on the poor often creates conditions for social grants. Sometimes, those conditions limit development aid to reach the poor due to lack of proper documentation and strict requirements. This view is challenged by programmes developed in six developing countries around the globe, namely Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, India, China, and Indonesia which see cash transfers as a solution to reduce poverty especially after the economic and financial crisis in the 1990s which changed the political and economic landscapes of those countries.

Cash transfers proved to be viable and usually cost between 0.5% and 1.5% of the country's GDP while potentially alleviating millions of people outside of the poverty line compared to methods such as micro-financing. While this book offers the "why's" and evidence on cash transfers as a viable solution to reduce poverties in the Global South, it also presents the limitations that require thorough discussions to specifically cater to each developing country's need. Up until now, there is the widespread belief that poor people are poor due to their own laziness, but there is strong evidence in this book that many of the poor stay poor for generations due to the limited financial resources that they have, and there's the possibility of them to escape the poverty line if given direct cash transfers.

[Reb]

one of the best titles ever - i think this is the definition of "pithy."

the book is a super quick read. just under 180 pages of forceful, non-dogmatic argument that the best way to alleviate/transform/end poverty is to give money to poor people. the authors review extensive research on different countries' and programs' ways of conceptualizing (investment? redistribution? safety net?) and targeting (kids? elderly? "ultra-poor"? everyone except the rich?) these payments.

while it's a little dry - policy oriented and laying out considerations, case studies, and practical challenges quite dispassionately and with an appropriate minimum of moral analysis - it makes the case that the developed North's priorities for development and donor spending are often not the most effective mechanisms for change, and that a variety of cash transfer programs across the global South show efficacy AND a refreshingly anti-paternalistic, democratic ethos.

an excellent companion volume to Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine, which i just finished. by contrast, Klein is outraged (and correctly so) at the neoliberal gutting of redistributive or even just basically stabilizing economic policies, but her book is all kinds of depressing. who would think that wonky research brings hope??

[Homeless Aristocrat]

Given the title, I assumed this book would be another idealistic economic outline for fixing the world. But to my surprise, Just Give Money to the Poor is surprisingly grounded and well researched. The central thesis, reinforced through the title is, poor countries (particularly in the global south) who have programs which provide cash transfers for the poorest people in the country allow for the poor to: 1. Have increased nutrition, through the ability to eat more diverse and higher quality foods, 2. Provide their children with a higher level of education than would be possible without the transfers, 3. Providing means for escape from the generational poverty cycle.

The global south has often been the target of international aid programs. Often these programs are misallocated or wasted away within the distribution process, leaving little funds to actually reach those who were initially targeted. In the past few decades, many countries, seemingly led by South Africa, China, and Brazil, have begun cash transfer programs, which simply put money in the hands of the poorest people in the society. These programs have been put in place for different reasons in different places. In some cases, the belief in a human right which insists on a universal standard of living drives the thought behind these programs. These kinds of programs generally provide some sort of government assistance to all people within all wealth brackets as this income is seen as a human right. In other places, the programs are attempting to level out human income inequality as a means of redistribution. Alternatively cash transfers are most commonly used as something of a “social safety net,” similar to social security but this time targeted at the impoverished rather than the elderly. Cash transfers seem to most commonly affect the poor, but also specifically help out families with young children or many children, the elderly, the disabled, or orphans.

The authors provide statistical data to back up their claims, namely that cash transfers help children receive a better education, cash transfers help families receive better quality nutrition, and cash transfers allow for an escape from the lowest socioeconomic statuses. The authors also do not shy away from the potential limitations of these policies. The authors particularly note that these cash transfers usually help stimulate local economies through introducing new cash flows, but they do not reliably allow for the creation of new jobs. In many places, the limited number of jobs keeps people in their economic status. While these cash transfers seemingly allow for enough of an increase to raise families from severe poverty, they are far from a one size fits all solution to the problem of economic inequality. The authors go into more detail saying that these cash transfers do not actually alleviate economic inequality, and while they may be intended as a means of redistribution, they do not work as redistribution. For cash transfers to have a lasting legacy of permanently alleviating people from poverty, the authors argue that they would require a much wider set of policies targeting specifically the creation of jobs and increasing infrastructure within these poorer communities.

It is also noted that the political system matters quite a decent amount in the introduction and effectiveness of these policies. Corruption obviously poses a serious barrier against cash transfers. Governments who institute cash transfers would be more effective with a functioning auditing office to oversee the distribution and effectiveness of the transfers. The authors note that the transfers are quite effective when they are given to the poorest members of society rather than to the middle classes, which might use the extra funds to take more vacation days rather than as a motivator to invest in their future. Another finding was that women in the global south usually use the cash transfers more for the benefit of the family in comparison to men, who are more likely to spend the money on things like alcohol or other frivolous activities.

I appreciate their grounded approach to alleviating the problem of extreme poverty within the global south. The authors analyze systems that are used and working decently within the real world to abstract data and argue for better solutions to the problems attempting to be remedied. The solutions are also grounded, making for a strong argument in favor of cash transfers.

[Nancy]

Good argument, but repetitively and dryly written.

[Julian Smith]

well researched. important. More about the facts and less about the flow.

[Kelly Connors]

I enjoyed this book because it confronts the different stereotypes about the poor, especially concerning paternalism. I learned a lot about different types of social protection and cash transfer programs in different countries. The book though only focuses on cash transfer type programs and doesn't delve into other types of international development programs. I think this is a good book for those interested in social protection programs and international development but someone who is interested in economic development or international development more broadly may think this book has too narrow a scope. The book is a short and easy read though and I definitely recommend it.

[Jennifer Kern]

"The hidden challenge of living on $1 or $2 a day is that these are just averages: incomes swing up and down across weeks and seasons. The variability means that keeping families healthy, fed, and educated becomes far harder. Just Give Money to the Poor makes a convincing case for a simple but powerful idea: that guaranteeing families an assured base income will create a platform upon which they can build their futures."
- Jonathan Morduch, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, New York University

[Kevin Norman]

I can't wait to read this book again, It's a very good book.