Social Protection

A large temporary cash incentive rapidly enrolled millions of informal workers into Thailand's voluntary social insurance programme, demonstrating that enrolment barriers can be overcome when incentives are strong enough. However, the high dropout ra...

In Mexico, income transfers targeted at women are effective at improving their decision-making position within the household, translating into significant changes in household consumption and time allocation patterns.

In January 2022, the US suspended Ethiopia’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, ending Ethiopia’s preferential trade access to the US market, and leading to a major increase in tariffs, the loss of key buyers, and, at some compan...

A study of Indonesia's Kartu Prakerja programme finds that on-demand cash and training assistance can significantly boost self-employment and income among those who genuinely receive it. However, the programme's flexible online design enabled third-p...

An experiment in Nairobi's informal settlements found that parents usually made child-nutrition decisions cooperatively, and that fathers were at least as willing as mothers to allocate resources to their children's meals – challenging the case for u...

Is it nuts to give cash to the poor without strings attached?

A randomised evaluation of a lower-cost graduation-style programme in rural Ethiopia finds modest gains in savings and livestock income but no sustained improvements in consumption or food security, suggesting that smaller transfers and lighter suppo...

Adding home visits to a social safety net programme providing cash transfers and parenting information led to sustained improvements in child development, health behaviours, and education outcomes in Burkina Faso, whereas cash alone produced fewer la...

Digital cash transfers can be delivered even in active conflict settings like Sudan and can significantly protect vulnerable households – especially in the most insecure areas – from worsening food insecurity, though their impacts vary by context and...