Chris Blattman
Economist and political scientist at the University of Chicago, who runs randomised trials on poverty, employment and violence in Uganda, Liberia and Colombia, and is one of the researchers whose work made cash transfers a mainstream aid instrument.
Chris Blattman did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
-
Their wordsIf it’s becoming standard to judge interventions by their cost effectiveness, then I can’t be more thrilled.
↗Are cash transfers overrated?chrisblattman.com 1st of 5 in this piece
-
Their wordsYou can think of cash transfers like the index fund of development (making GiveDirectly the Vanguard).
↗Are cash transfers overrated?chrisblattman.com 2nd of 5 in this piece
-
Their wordsThere will be, I am confident, a great many interventions that do better than cash on any number of metrics. Ones that solve market failures or supply problems are big candidates, just like Starr and Hattendorf say.
↗Are cash transfers overrated?chrisblattman.com 3rd of 5 in this piece
-
Their wordsI’m more skeptical we’ll see better alternatives for pure poverty-alleviation, but we’ll see.
↗Are cash transfers overrated?chrisblattman.com 4th of 5 in this piece
-
Their wordsThe evidence they cite in favor of cash points to peer reviewed randomized trials. The evidence on better performing programs point to… NGO home pages.
↗Are cash transfers overrated?chrisblattman.com 5th of 5 in this piece
- 9 months earlier
-
Their wordsIt is not, “Cash transfers to the poor are a panacea.” More like, “They probably suck less than most of the other things we are doing.” This is not a high bar.
↗Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thingchrisblattman.com 1st of 7 in this piece
-
Their wordsIf a poor person is enterprising, and their main problem is insufficient capital, terrific. If that’s not their problem, throwing cash will not do much to help.
↗Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thingchrisblattman.com 2nd of 7 in this piece
-
Their wordsThird, a cash transfer to help the poor build business is like aspirin to a flesh wound. It helps, but not for long.
↗Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thingchrisblattman.com 3rd of 7 in this piece
-
Their wordsThe real problem is the absence of firms small and large to employ people productively. The root of the problem is political instability, economic uncertainty, and a country’s high cost structure, among other things. A government’s attention is properly on these bigger issues.
↗Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thingchrisblattman.com 4th of 7 in this piece
-
Their wordsIf I were an enterprising young researcher looking for an idea and experiments that will prove powerful in five years, I would try to find the stake I can drive into the heart of the cash transfer movement.
↗Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thingchrisblattman.com 5th of 7 in this piece
-
Their wordsMy rule of thumb in this profession: “If the New York Times covers a research paper, the next year we will learn that it’s wrong”.
↗Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thingchrisblattman.com 6th of 7 in this piece
-
Our reading
Watching a panacea get crushed by later studies is science working, not a reason for despair.
Their wordsThat is not depressing. That is science. We should welcome it.
↗Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thingchrisblattman.com 7th of 7 in this piece