Garcia, Marito; Moore, Charity M. T.
Description:
The results of the review do not
disappoint. The authors identified more than 120 cash
transfer programs that were implemented between 2000 and
mid-2009 in Sub-Saharan Africa. These programs have varying
objectives, targeting, scale, conditions, technologies, and
more. A sizable number of these programs conducted robust
impact evaluations that provide important information,
presented here, on the merits of cash transfer programs and
their specific design features in the African context. The
authors present summary information on programs, often in
useful graphs, and provide detailed reference material in
the appendixes. They highlight how many of the cash transfer
programs in Africa that had not yet begun implementation at
the time of writing will continue to provide important
evaluation results that will guide the design of cash
transfer programs in the region. In addition to presenting
data and analysis on the mechanics of the programs, the
authors discuss issues related to political economy. They
highlight the importance of addressing key tradeoffs in cash
transfers, political will, and buy-in, and they emphasize
the need to build evidence-based debates on cash transfer
programs. Useful anecdotes and discussion illustrate how
some programs have dealt with these issues with varying
degrees of success. This text will serve as a useful
reference for years to come for those interested in large-
and small-scale issues of cash transfer implementation, both
in Africa and beyond. However, the book is not an end in
itself. It also raises important questions that must be
addressed and knowledge gaps that must be filled. Therefore,
it is useful both in the information it provides and in the
issues and questions it raises.