The Next Big Idea Can We End Poverty by Just Giving People Cash?
8 snips
Sep 12, 2024 
Rory Stewart, former UK Secretary of State for International Development and now a senior advisor to GiveDirectly, argues that simply giving cash can eradicate extreme poverty. He shares his transformation from skeptic to advocate for unconditional cash transfers, highlighting their success in alleviating poverty. Stewart critiques traditional aid models, emphasizing the practicality of cash assistance and its empowering effects on communities. He discusses bipartisan approaches to poverty, alongside insights on the complex relationship between money and happiness, and offers a hopeful vision for ending poverty.
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Zambia Sanitation Project
- Rory Stewart visited a sanitation project in Zambia funded by the UK's international development program.
- He found that $40,000 was spent on two holes in the ground and five plastic buckets, highlighting wasteful spending.
Ineffectiveness of Traditional Aid
- International development projects are often disappointing and frustrating due to mismanagement and bureaucratic processes.
- Rory Stewart realized that the traditional top-down approach often achieves very little real impact.
GiveDirectly in Rwanda
- GiveDirectly, an NGO, gave lump-sum cash payments to people in extreme poverty in Rwanda.
- This approach challenged Rory Stewart’s initial skepticism about the effectiveness of simply giving cash.
