I've been following the discussion on Conditional and Unconditional Cash Transfers to the poor, and it is very, very interesting. It makes me feel like I've been short-sighted in the past for so quickly dismissing the answers of the ultra-poor in Sierra Leone, South Africa and East Africa when I've asked them: "What is it that you need to get going", and they've replied: "I am strapped for cash; I just need cash to get going". I dismissed that as being a binding constraint secondary to something else that was less simple... but some good evidence is showing that that might not be the case. The debate on this definitely not settled, and seems to suggest something more complex than just giving money away to all for nothing, but it also suggests that doing that is less absurd than previously thought. I recommend reading Chris Blattman's thoughts, and this great article in The Economist.
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