But to some veterans of the charity world, giving cash is worrisome. When we first reported on this we spoke with Carol Bellamy, who used to run UNICEF, and who said people might spend the money on things like alcohol or gambling.
To see whether this was actually happening, researchers did an experiment. They surveyed people in Kenya who received money from GiveDirectly, and a similar group of people who didn't get money.
The results from the study are encouraging, says Johannes Haushofer, an economist at MIT's Poverty Action Lab who was one of the study's co-authors.
I like the micro loans that give a small loan with no interest. If they default, they do not get another (until they pay it off). But most do not default and it does change lives for the better.
ReplyDeleteImagine that, leave people alone as much as possible to order their lives the best way they see fit and it turns out pretty well.
ReplyDeleteOr to flip it around: no amount of oversight on "charity" will turn a dishonest man honest, and only punishes the basically honest (who appear to be in the majority, surprise surprise). If anything not giving people some control over their own lives encourages them to be dishonest as it is the only way to live within that system (that they are forced to live in, it should be noted)...in which case it's hardly charitable.
PW