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
Behavioral Development Economics Behavioral economics is often studied in the contexts of consumer behavior—overeating, going to the gym, doing your homework, and other relatively “first world” problems. However, for many people around the world, behavioral biases and irrationalities can have … Continue reading Poverty and growth
Is Charity for the Poor Futile? In an essay published last month in The Guardian, 15 leading economists – including the Nobel laureates Angus Deaton, James Heckman, and Joseph Stiglitz – criticized what they call “the ‘aid effectiveness’ craze” on … Continue reading The Life You Can Save
