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

by Hanlon,Joseph

• ISBN13: 9781565493339
• ISBN10: 1565493338
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-15
• Publisher: STYLUS PUB

Summary

* 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 radical: 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 Pooroffers 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.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	p. vii
Foreword	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
From Alms to Rights and North to South	p. 15
Cash Transfers Today	p. 27
Eating More—and Better	p. 53
Pro-poor Growth: Turning a dollar;1 Grant into $2 Income	p. 69
To Everyone or Just a Few? The Targeting Dilemma	p. 87
Identifying Recipients	p. 101
Co-responsibility and Services: The Conditionality Dilemma	p. 125
Cash Transfers Are Practical in Poor Countries	p. 143
The Way Forward	p. 165
Background and Research Data	p. 183
Acknowledgments	p. 185
Bibliography	p. 187
Index	p. 205
About the Authors	p. 215
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