If You Give People Cash, Does It Help?

If You Give People Cash, Does It Help?

In Uganda, researchers evaluated a government program that gave unsupervised cash grants to youth for small business development and training. Based on final results four years after the intervention, the cash transfers achieved nearly all the goals. Beneficiaries invested most of the cash in building business opportunities. While they still did agricultural work, they spent more time working in skilled industry and services and their incomes rose. The study also illustrates the important weaknesses of microfinance. This impact evaluation and a host of other studies show that many young adults have high returns on investment when they have access to capital. Microloans are poor vehicles for small business growth and the development of cottage industry. As governments and the private sector work to develop this financial sophistication, cash transfers are likely to be important drivers of poverty alleviation and development for youth. This Evidence to Policy note was jointly produced by the World Bank Group, the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF), and the British governments Department for International Development.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: World Bank
Format: Brief biblioteca
Language:English
en_US
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2013-11
Subjects:ACCESS TO CAPITAL, ACCESS TO CREDIT, ACCESSIBLE FINANCE, ARMED CONFLICTS, BANK ACCOUNT, BENEFICIARIES, BUDGETING, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, CASH TRANSFER, CASH TRANSFERS, CREDIT ACCESS, CREDIT CONSTRAINTS, CREDIT MARKETS, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DRIVERS, EARNINGS, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, EMERGING ECONOMIES, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, ENTREPRENEURS, FAMILIES, FAMILY SUPPORT, FIRMS, GENDER, HIGH INTEREST RATES, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, INCOME, INCOME-GENERATING PROJECTS, INNOVATIONS, INTEREST RATE, INTEREST RATES, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES, JOB OPPORTUNITIES, LEARNING, LOCAL ECONOMY, MICROFINANCE, MICROFINANCE TOOLS, MONEYLENDERS, POLITICAL PARTICIPATION, PRIMARY SCHOOL, REAL INTEREST, REAL INTEREST RATES, RETURNS, SKILLS TRAINING, SMALL BUSINESS, SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH, SMALL BUSINESSES, START-UP, START-UP CAPITAL, TRAINING PROGRAMS, UNEMPLOYED, UNEMPLOYMENT, UNSKILLED JOBS, VOCATIONAL TRAINING, VOUCHER, VOUCHERS, YOUTH, YOUTH EMPLOYMENT,
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/11/18563428/uganda-give-people-cash-help
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/22607
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Summary:In Uganda, researchers evaluated a government program that gave unsupervised cash grants to youth for small business development and training. Based on final results four years after the intervention, the cash transfers achieved nearly all the goals. Beneficiaries invested most of the cash in building business opportunities. While they still did agricultural work, they spent more time working in skilled industry and services and their incomes rose. The study also illustrates the important weaknesses of microfinance. This impact evaluation and a host of other studies show that many young adults have high returns on investment when they have access to capital. Microloans are poor vehicles for small business growth and the development of cottage industry. As governments and the private sector work to develop this financial sophistication, cash transfers are likely to be important drivers of poverty alleviation and development for youth. This Evidence to Policy note was jointly produced by the World Bank Group, the Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF), and the British governments Department for International Development.

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