Superfluous, pernicious, atrocious and abominable: the case against Conditional Cash Transfers
28/07/2025
Originally published on May 31, 2007. A version of this blog was also published in the IDS Bulletin, May 2007 Volume 38 Issue 3 pages 75-78. In 1792, the first consumer boycott was organised to protest against the inhumane treatment of slaves in the production of sugar in the West...
The World Bank’s State of Social Protection Report 2025: The 2-Billion Person Challenge shows that it is not learning its own lessons
By Matthew Greenslade The World Bank’s long-term advocacy of poverty targeting social protection schemes has been punctuated by moments of relative enlightenment, where the costs of poverty targeting have been recognised. But its push for poverty-targeted benefits as the basis of the tax-financed side of national social protection systems has...
19/05/2025
The pitfalls of poverty targeting: Systemic exclusion from a South African social assistance transfer
Siyanda Baduza, Kelle Howson, Thato Setambule and Thobani Khumalo (Institute for Economic Justice) More than half of the target population has not been able to access a lifesaving South African social assistance transfer aimed at alleviating extreme poverty amongst working-age adults. While the overall scale of exclusion from the “COVID-19 Social...
07/04/2025
“All social protection interventions are equal, but some are more equal than others”, with apologies to George Orwell, Animal Farm (1945)
I recently came across a heading “Iniquities and Social Protection”. It made me realise (yet again!) what an impossible language English is to master as a second tongue (and even as a mother tongue). “Iniquity” is definitely the wrong term to use here: it means “sin” or “wickedness” or “gross...
01/04/2025
From Jharkhand’s “Semi-UBI” to Universal Child Benefits: why it’s time for India to think bigger and better
By Dhanisha Raj Remember my last post on Jharkhand’s bold move to introduce a “Semi-UBI”? If not, here’s the refresher: the state – in India – rolled out a universal benefit for women aged 18-50, proving that big ideas can come from unexpected places. Think of it as a universal...
25/02/2025
Digitalisation in Social Protection: Lessons from Azerbaijan
Richard Chirchir, Principal Digital Technology Specialist at Development Pathways, breaks down the technical components of Azerbaijan’s advanced information system for social security and lists several key lessons that other countries can take away. This blog was written in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population of...
11/02/2025
How Jharkhand is setting a precedent for universal social security in India: where there’s a will…
By Dhanisha Raj Who would’ve guessed that one of the boldest moves in designing social security benefits would come from—not even a country—but a state in India called Jharkhand? For those unfamiliar, Jharkhand is one of India’s poorest states,¹ nestled in the country’s eastern region, often making headlines for its...
27/01/2025