To condition or not to condition: what is the evidence?

‘The World Bank do not like having conditions imposed on them: so why impose them on others?’

In the first of our Pathways Perspectives of the year, we look at the results from a range of experiments that compare conditional and unconditional cash transfers. Overall, there is no robust evidence to suggest that the use of conditions have any positive impact on recipients. Given this, the author Stephen Kidd, our Senior Social Policy Specialist, asks why countries insist on enforcing conditions by sanctioning families, and suggests alternative approaches.