Gib das Geld einfach den Armen

"Just give money to the poor", lautet der Titel eines neuen Buches, das Duncan Green bespricht. Das Buch macht sich für direkte Einkommenstransfer an Arme (cash transfers, CT) als einfaches und wirkungsvolles Element einer gelungenen Entwicklungsstrategie stark. Im Folgenden sollen die wichtigstens Abschnitte aus der  im "Poverty to Power"-Besprechung zitiert werden (engl.). Zur empirischen Basis heißt es da:

At least 45 countries in the Global South now give CTs to more than 110 million families. Every program is different, from universal child benefits in Mongolia to pensions in Africa to family grants in Latin America. Some grants are tiny – only $3 a month – whereas others give families more than $100 a month; some cover more than one-third of the population, and others aim only for the very poorest. The size of public spending varies from 0.1% of GDP to 4%, although most programs fall in the range of 0.4% to 1.5%.

Und die Erfahrungen?

These programs are affordable, recipients use the money well and do not waste it, cash grants are an efficient way to directly reduce current poverty, and they have the potential to prevent future poverty by facilitating economic growth and promoting human development.
But two areas remain the subject of intense debate: targeting and conditions. Should smaller grants be given to many people, or larger grants to a few? Should recipients be asked to satisfy conditions such as sending their children to school or doing voluntary labor? Intriguingly, there is very little evidence that conditions have any actual impact, by the way.