tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331441403058020963.post6323915837010573772..comments2024-03-23T14:59:06.647-04:00Comments on International Political Economy at the University of North Carolina: Helping the Poor by Giving Them MoneyThomas Oatleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14092437150746625670noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331441403058020963.post-36474083931515585972009-05-20T06:52:16.488-04:002009-05-20T06:52:16.488-04:00we already give money to poor people - welfare, un...we already give money to poor people - welfare, unemployment, etc. Foreign aid works differently because by and large the goal isn't to raise recipients out of poverty - it's about pork for politically important domestic constituents. <br /><br />The article does mention that there are several problems to work through in order to make this program work better - mainly ensuring the access of women and providing financial management training and bank accounts. Sounds a lot like microfinance to me. In fact, I'd bet that the prospect of having to repay the money reinforces the desire to use the money in productive rather than consumptive ways. <br /><br />One final thought - this program was about cash transfers in the after math of a natural disaster, which is quite different from cash transfers in normal times. When people's crops, houses, etc get destroyed, they focus on rebuilding what they lost instead of squandering cash injections. AND, this natural experiment had no control group and doesn't report its sample size. The finding that cash injections didn't lead to inflation might simply be because the program wasn't large scale.Sarah Bauerle Danzmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11268909823574840085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331441403058020963.post-16856673038290222252009-05-20T00:24:55.880-04:002009-05-20T00:24:55.880-04:00no. i'm suggesting that if we want to help people,...no. i'm suggesting that if we want to help people, then we should let them make their own decisions.Kindred Winecoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14330671232391851377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1331441403058020963.post-37120812472765601022009-05-19T23:37:57.068-04:002009-05-19T23:37:57.068-04:00really? u r really suggesting booze is OK as an ex...really? u r really suggesting booze is OK as an expenditure in aid money?GabbyDnoreply@blogger.com