If we’re serious about changing the world, we need a better kind of economics to do it In 2017, a poll in the UK asked: “Whose opinion do you trust the most when they talk about their field of expertise?” … Continue reading The humane economics
How Should We Estimate the Number of People in the U.S. Experiencing Poverty? How should we estimate the number of people in the United States experiencing poverty?The official measurement the government uses is the “poverty threshold.” This metric, developed in … Continue reading The poverty line
Behavioral Science is Clear: Work Requirements are Doomed to Fail Safety net programs help millions of Americans each year by providing basic needs like money, food, health care, and housing. These anti-poverty programs are crucial to the well-being of so … Continue reading Supporting poverty
Work Requirements Are (Socially) Toxic Sludge Work requirements for anti-poverty programs don’t encourage work, as their proponents claim. Instead, the evidence indicates, these misguided policies make it harder for people to maintain or find employment. Their principal effect is stripping … Continue reading Work Requirements Don’t Work
There’s new evidence giving cash to the poor is more transformative than we thought When it comes to poverty alleviation in the developing world, cash transfer schemes have been at the center of a difficult debate. For years, donor agencies … Continue reading The transfer project
The more money you make, the more fast food you eat The stereotype is that poor people eat more fast food than rich people, who virtuously eat only organic salads and cows with names. One problem with this assumption: It … Continue reading Fast food and income
Can Conditional Cash Transfers Break the Cycle of Poverty? The Issue: Programs that give cash to the poor in exchange for a commitment to keep children in school or provide them with basic medical care have become among the most … Continue reading Alleviating poverty
