iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Great #TimelyCash events last week: beyond grateful to @politicaleconhub.bsky.social ‬@stcatharines.bsky.social @blavatnikschool.bsky.social @gamblingondev.bsky.social & @odi.global for the extraordinary hospitality & opportunity to discuss 2500 years of #cashtransfers! academic.oup.com/book/58850

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

A #basicincome pilot in #Germany provided 100+ young people (21-40 yrs), and already earning €1100-2600, with an extra €1200/month for 3 years (2021-24). Results: people keep working and study even more (plus higher wellbeing in various dimensions). www.pilotprojekt-grundeinkommen.de/en/labour

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Cash saves lives: Alaskan universal #cashtransfers (mildly) increase the odds that male twins survive gestation due to reduced mothers' economic insecurity. Singh et al www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

12 years on, the effects of a cash grant ($380/person) in #Uganda are alive and kicking... earnings among beneficiaries are 22% higher, but only among men. Fiala et al www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

In #NewZealand, #cashtransfers of $37/week to mothers with children aged 0-1 reduced the odds of child abuse/neglect by 19% (and 26% among those with past child protective service records). Moullin and Milne www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Exciting #TimelyCash book tour coming up! What are we learning from 2500 years of #cashtransfers history? If you are in the UK, join the conversation and meet me at one of these upcoming events: - Monday Feb 3 at 12:00-13:00 hosted by ODI in London: odi.org/en/events/in... 1/3

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

2 papers on #cashtransfers (TKP) in #Egypt! - TKP didn’t bolster consumption, but increased assets + reduced debt (Karachiwalla et al cgspace.cgiar.org/server/api/c...) - only 32% would opt to leave TKP to join the Forsa economic inclusion program (Allen et al cgspace.cgiar.org/server/api/c...)

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Another big study on life-saving effects of #cashtransfers. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

How research is designed matters — it’s the door through which results head out, but potentially also the window for ideology to sneak in. www.nber.org/papers/w33274

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

Which country has the longest tradition of *experimental* #cashtransfers evidence? Hint: it’s not a low/middle income country. Like in the 1960-70s, the US is a powerhouse of pilots. (Past: eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/course... Present: jainfamilyinstitute.org/wp-content/u...)

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

New article from #Nigeria suggests that #cashtransfers to women increase their demand for agency “secretly” — that is, they do not “change the intra-household balance of power enough to allow them to express it publicly”. Bakhtiar et al academic.oup.com/ej/advance-a...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Takeaways on #cashtransfers and fertility in high-income countries: 1. Child benefits (on # children) ≠ baby bonus (on birth) 2. Mixed effects 3. Impact magnitude "tends to be small (if any)". Gauthier and Gietel-Basten onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

#humanitarian "value for money"? “That greater cost efficiency is likely to be correlated with greater program scale... runs contrary to practice... where lower budgets are seen as an impetus for cost squeezing [and] higher value for money.” Tulloch et al onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

“In nearly half of the 7,821 assessments analysed, [social workers] indicated that both an approval and a denial decision were possible.” Insightful analysis from #Sweden illuminates the relationship between human judgment and means testing. Hussenius et al doi.org/10.1332/2755...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Can a "big push" program help conflict-affected households in Somalia? Yup... (p.s. big push = cash (9 months) + asset or TVET training + coaching + financial literacy + business facilitation + savings groups + disaster risk training) @kallehi.bsky.social et al www.ifpri.org/blog/graduat...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

The weekly links are wrapping up the year by featuring the top 100 #socialprotection papers of 2024, enjoy! www.ugogentilini.net/links-dec-20...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Insightful paper comparing the politics of #socialprotection in China, India and Turkey. Roy et al: www.ippjournal.org/uploads/1/3/...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Warning from #Sweden: automation of select administrative functions of #cashtransfers “… does not inherently lead to… faster and fairer eligibility [nor] a more client-centered approach in social assistance casework”. Germundsson et al www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

How do women feel about #socialprotection in the OECD? New study finds that “… women are far less confident than men in their ability to access adequate benefits and services when they need them, both in working age and old age”. Frey et al www.oecd.org/content/dam/...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

15 years of lessons from #Ethiopia’s PSNP, all in one great paper! Hoddinott et al www.wider.unu.edu/sites/defaul...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

New systematic lit review looks at #cashtransfers and other social assistance programs through a crisis lens in #Africa. Hirvonen et al www.wider.unu.edu/sites/defaul...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Check out Part-I of a special edition of the weekly #socialprotection links, where 23 great minds share their suggested readings of 2024! www.ugogentilini.net/links-dec-13...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

New Lancet article on universal #cashtransfers for children: "universal child cash benefits should be at the forefront of the broader economic policy portfolio as an investment in a nation's health, sustainability, and global competitiveness". Shaefer et al www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Boom! #socialprotection helps but it is *not* enough. "... in most countries in Africa, poverty rates increase after fiscal interventions, even in high- and middle-income countries, more so than [in contexts] with similar levels of development". Sinha et al (eds) www.worldbank.org/en/region/af...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

After various working paper versions, the big review on #socialprotection in low and middle income countries by Banerjee et al is now available in journal (JEP) form. Super neat! pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Interesting assessment of #Spain's food procurement for #schoolmeals and social care centers. Gaitán-Cremaschi and Valbuena www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Got 30 minutes & looking for a podcast? Here is the deal — check out what happened with #cashtransfers over the past 2500 years! Tune in for a converation with the great Tim Phillips about my book #TimelyCash out today: lnkd.in/eHttxJKR Thanks for having me @voxdev.bsky.social, it was lot of fun.

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Do child tax credits work? “Overwhelmingly, [they] have positive impacts on children for a host of different outcomes, including infant birthweight, childhood health and achievement, educational attainment, wages, and poverty in adulthood”. Michelmore onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Great review of active labor market policies and public implement services in LAC is out! Instead of asking if ALMPs/PES work or not, identify “… what aspects of program design, selection and contextual integration increase or decrease effectiveness”. Nunn: publications.iadb.org/en/how-effec...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

In South Africa, “… social grants play a long-term promotive role in facilitating access to education and health and improving access to accommodation, water, and energy for migrants”. Nzabamwita & Ndhlovu noyam.org/wp-content/u...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

In the Middle East, “… greater scope should be accorded to social policy as a critical contributor to shaping social conditions that foster positive peace”. Jawad et al: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

“… #cashtransfers indirectly encourage the use of less polluting sources of energy”. Poggi and Ramaholimihaso www.afd.fr/sites/afd/fi...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Interesting review of 45 years of social policy in Iran articulated around 7 periods. Running over 2009-12, the 5th period “… can be seen as the end of comprehensive social security system and the beginning of #cashtransfers policies”. Bagheri: media.suub.uni-bremen.de/bitstream/el...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

After being in my thoughts and appearing on my screen for nearly 2000 days, the magic box just arrived on my doorstep and I could finally hold #TimelyCash in my hands. In case interested in getting your own copy, the book is out next week, Tuesday Dec 3! academic.oup.com/book/58850

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

This graph on what happens at the bottom of income distributions (poorest 10%) is shocking. #socialprotection can be *all* that people got (and it's 60% of their income on avg). And many of those people *contribute* financially to it. Hyee @herwigsocial.bsky.social et al docs.iza.org/dp17477.pdf

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Wish all event reports were done this well -- great summaries from IDB's annual adaptive #socialprotection event in Latin America and the Caribbean! publications.iadb.org/en/building-...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

The future of #socialprotection is here... at your fingertips. Check out some great data and reflections on changing demography, forms of work, climate, and more. OECD www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

In #Brazil, teenagers aged 15–17 covered by Bolsa #cashtransfers got ~19% more education than their older untreated siblings. Is such effect modest? The result "may represent the difference between basic literacy and complete illiteracy". Cepalunia & Driscoll www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

When thinking of "food stamps", think of helping children earn more as adults. In the US, receiving food stamps from conception through age 5 increases earnings for women at age 32 by approximately 15.6% or $3,966. Bitler and Figinski www.nber.org/system/files...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

What do parents prefer, (a) on-site school meals, (b) take home rations or (c) #cashtransfers? New evidence from #Ghana shows: (a) > (b) coz of high meal prep time constraints at home; (a) > (c) coz of food price volatility. Abreh et al www.cgdev.org/sites/defaul...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Combining #cashtransfers and lipid-based nutrition supplements is cost-effective for reducing stunting and disability-adjusted life years in #Pakistan (adding nutrition information reduces performance). Onah et al jogh.org/wp-content/u...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

How can we protect #cashtransfers from #inflation? Our new report Keep the Pace shows: ▶ how 232 programs in 158 countries are indexing cash discretionarily or automatically ▶ 14 deep dives into evolving practices ▶ Policy choices in different contexts. documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/0...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

What do we know about conditional vs unconditional #cashtransfers in Africa? New review of 27 studies finds that CCTs are better for education and health goals; but UCTs outperform them in flexibility, mental health effects, and economic resilience. Light et al www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

In Malawi, providing people with nutrition information (behavior change communication) works when complementing relatively large #cashtransfers, but not if provided alone or with smaller payments. Collishaw et al ace.illinois.edu/sites/defaul...

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Ugo Gentilini @ugentilini.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

A late newcomer here! Watch this space (and sign-up) for weekly news on #socialprotection from around the world: www.ugogentilini.net And if curious about news from the past 2,500 years… check out my new book — now available in kindle version (and print out Dec 3): academic.oup.com/book/58850

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