Does receiving a cash grant improve individual earnings in a war-torn country? Evidence from a randomized experiment in Afghanistan

Background: In this study, the effect of receiving a non-trivial cash grant and mentorship for business practice on individual earnings in Afghanistan was assessed. Methods: This randomized control trial (RCT) included 2177 individuals (n=2177), with the age range of 18-35 years. The amount of cash grant (500 USD) was approximately equal to the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the country. By a process of lottery, eligible applicants were equally divided into the group that received the grant (treatment group) and the group that did not (control group). Results: Almost two years after this study, the percentage of increased annual income to the size of this cash grant was approximately 173 % and 69 % for males and females, respectively. This result was much higher than the estimated percentage reported in previous literature assessing the effect of microfinance loans and cash grants in other countries. The treatment group had 7% higher probability of having an officially registered business than the control group. The treatment group also increased labor supply and employed additional workers, compared to the control group. The male treatment group bought more capital equipment (e.g., trike and commercial carts) than the male control group, while the female treatment group bought more domestic animals. Conclusion: A non-trivial cash grant has a strong positive effect on the earnings of the recipient of the cash grant in Afghanistan. If the state of increased income continues for the next few years, the sum of increased income will be more than the sum of the administration cost, the interest cost and the amount of cash grant given. This implies that the project passes the standard criteria to determine the appropriateness of government program. Additionally, we did not find any economically and statistically significant positive effect of mentorship on income.

Food Should not be Forgotten: Impacts of Combined Cash Transfer Receipt and Food Security on Child Education and Cognition in South Africa and Malawi

Social protection can take many forms. Both cash transfers and food security may have important contributions to child cognitive development. This study examines the potential impact of combinations of cash transfers and food security status on child cognitive development and educational outcomes. Cross-sectional data for 796 HIV-affected children in the Child Community Care study were utilised for this analysis. Children and caregivers completed interview schedules comprised of standardised items on socio-demographics, household data, cash grant receipt and food security status, school achievement, and cognition. A series of logistic and linear regression models and marginal effects analyses were undertaken to explore the impacts of differing levels of social protection (none; either cash grant receipt or food secure status or, both in combination) on child educational and cognitive outcomes. Although all children lived in poverty-stricken households, 20% (157/796) of children did not live in a household in receipt of a cash grant and did not report food security; 32.4% (258/796) reported either component of social protection and, 47.9% (381/796) received both measures of social protection in combination. Compared to no social protection, being in receipt of either component of social protection was found to be significantly associated with being in the correct class for age, higher scores of non-verbal cognition, and higher working memory scores. Receiving both social protection measures in combination was found to be significantly associated with reduced educational risk scores, improved odds of being in the correct class for age, regular school attendance, missing less than a week of school in the previous two weeks, higher scores on measures of nonverbal cognition, higher working memory scores, and learning new things more easily. Educational and cognitive outcomes for children can be bolstered by social protection measures (cash grant receipt or food security). Benefits are enhanced when social protection is received in combination. Such findings support the notion of synergistic social protection responses for children living in environments impacted by high levels of HIV burden and deprivation.

Coverage of non-receipt of cash transfer (Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty) and associated factors among older persons in the Mampong Municipality, Ghana – a quantitative analysis

Background Social assistance in the form of cash transfer or in-kind has been recognised as a social protection strategy in many developing countries to tackle poverty and provide protection for individuals and households. Ghana’s cash grant programme, Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), was introduced in 2008 to support selected households with vulnerable persons including older people 65 years and above, and persons with disabilities. This paper examined the coverage of non-receipt of LEAP, and the associated factors among older persons (65+ years) in the Mampong Municipality, Ghana. Methods Data were extracted from the Ageing, Social Protection and Health Systems (ASPHS) survey carried out between September 2017 and October 2017 among older persons residing in LEAP-targeted communities. Data were analysed using descriptive and sequential logistic regression model techniques. Results The mean age of respondents was 77.0 years and 62.3% were females. Rural residents constituted 59.0%. About 42.0% had no formal education and only 20.5% had no form of caregiving. Non-receipt of LEAP was 82.7% among study respondents. The fully adjusted model showed that being married (AOR = 3.406, CI 1.127–10.290), residing in an urban location (AOR = 3.855, CI 1.752–8.484), having attained primary level of education (AOR = 0.246, CI 0.094–0.642), and not residing in the same household with a primary caregiver (AOR = 6.088, CI 1.814–20.428) were significantly associated with non-receipt of cash grant among older persons. Conclusion These results provide the first quantitative estimates of non-receipt coverage and its associated factors with the LEAP programme, which can inform the design of government policies related to cash transfers for older persons. The need for further research using different approaches to understand and explain the impact of cash grants on older persons’ well-being is crucial in strengthening old age social support care mechanisms in Ghana.

The food of life: an evaluation of the impact of cash grant receipt and good parenting on child nutrition outcomes in South Africa and Malawi

Social protection interventions (inclusive of cash grant receipt and care provision) have been found to be effective in response to some of the negative implications of the HIV epidemic on children and families. This study explores the impact of cash grant receipt and care provision (operationalised as good parenting) on child nutritional outcomes. In this cross-sectional study, 854 children and younger adolescents (5–15 years) and caregivers affected by HIV, attending community-based organisations in South Africa and Malawi, were interviewed. Interviews comprised inventories on socio-demographic information, family data, cash grant receipt and child nutrition. Parenting was measured using a composite scale. Logistic regression and marginal effects analyses were used to explore the associations between differing levels of social protection (none; either cash or good parenting; cash and good parenting) and child nutritional outcomes. One hundred and sixty children (20.3%) received neither cash nor good parenting; 501 (63.5%) received either cash or good parenting and 128 (16.2%) received both cash and good parenting. In comparison to no intervention, receipt of either cash or good parenting was significantly associated with child non-stunting, the child having sufficient food, and the child not looking thin. Three (3/7) nutritional outcomes showed increased improvement amongst children receiving both cash and good parenting care including child-reported non-hunger, child non-stunting and parental report of sufficient food. Marginal effects analyses further identified an additive effect of cash and good parenting on child nutritional outcomes. This study indicates that receipt of combined cash and good parenting, when compared to cash grant receipt alone, has positive effects on nutrition-related child outcomes.

The Political Theory of Universal Basic Income

Universal basic income (UBI) is a radical policy proposal of a monthly cash grant given to all members of a community without means test, regardless of personal desert, with no strings attached, and, under most proposals, at a sufficiently high level to enable a life free from economic insecurity. Once a utopian proposal, the policy is now widely discussed and piloted throughout the world. Among the various objections to the proposal, one concerns its moral adequacy: Isn't it fundamentally unjust to give cash to all indiscriminately rather than to those who need it and deserve it? This article reviews the variety of strategies deployed by political theorists to posit that the proposal is in fact justified, or even required, by social justice. The review focuses mainly on the contemporary normative debate on UBI—roughly dating back to Philippe Van Parijs's influential work in the 1990s—and is centered on the ideals of freedom and equality.

Impact of a multidimensional child cash grant programme on water, sanitation and hygiene in Nepal

The study evaluated the impact of a multidimensional child cash grant (CCG) programme on safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) outcomes. The intervention district received a CCG providing 200 Nepalese Rupee per month for up to two children for poor families with children under five, a capacity building component for effective child sensitive social protection, and behaviour change activities in addition to existing standard social welfare services in the form of targeted resource transfers (TRTs) for eligible families. The control district received only TRTs for eligible families. Propensity scores were used in difference-in-differences models to compare the changes over time between the intervention and control groups. The intervention resulted in a 5.5% (p < 0.01), 46.6% (p < 0.001) and 42.2% (p < 0.001) percentage points reduction in the proportion of households reporting drinking water from unimproved sources, having unimproved sanitation facilities, and practising unsanitary disposal of children's faeces, respectively. However, the prevalence of households practising inadequate water treatment methods did not differ between the intervention and comparison districts. In order to achieve WASH coverage in Nepal, strategies to scale up the intervention need to consider a social protection programme embedding different financial incentive and integrated capacity mechanisms.

Data, Detection, and the Redistribution of the Sensible in International Law

One dusty day in 2002, at Takhta Baig Voluntary Repatriation Centre near Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan, an Afghan woman—let us call her Amena—entered a nondescript room and sat down in front of a camera. A brief conversation took place with a woman sitting nearby at a computer terminal. Amena placed her chin where she was directed to do so, swept back a few strands of hair creeping out of her veil, and stared straight ahead for a few seconds while a series of photographs of one of her eyes was taken. Almost immediately, a small alarm sounded on the computer terminal of the woman seated alongside her. Amena was gently ushered toward the other side of the room for discussions with other officials. Some short time later, she was advised that her request to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for a modest cash grant and some supplies to aid her and her family's repatriation to Afghanistan had been denied. This was because, according to output of the UNHCR’s iris verification program, she had already received assistance earlier the same year. When asked, Amena admitted that she had indeed sought UNHCR repatriation assistance multiple times, under pressure from family members. She walked away. Soon, she could soon no longer be seen amid the press of trucks, cars, bicycles, and people that stretched to the suburbs in the distance.