GiveDirectly

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

GiveDirectly is a New York City charity that uses an electronic payment system to fight poverty by sending money directly to people in need. Since then it has been financed by z. T. well-known donors. As part of the discussion about an unconditional basic income , GiveDirectly announced a large-scale field study that received international attention.

The organization was founded by students in 2009 to demonstrate that direct transfer payments are more effective and sustainable in terms of development economics than measures within the framework of traditional development cooperation such as the construction of wells, schools or even donations in kind, the effects of which are often hampered by mismanagement, corruption or misappropriation becomes. The system was first tested in a closed group of people. In 2011 the organization was officially founded. It is financed to a large extent from donations, 93 percent of which are to be passed on directly to the recipients.

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and Jacqueline Fuller , head of Google Giving , are active on GiveDirectly's board of directors.

Basic Income Study

The organization announced in 2016 that it was conducting an experiment to test the effects of an unconditional basic income. For example, 6,000 selected poor people in Kenya and Uganda will receive around 22 US dollars per month for 10 years without any restrictions. The money is transferred directly to the local people via mobile phones.

The Basic Income Grant project, which was carried out in Namibia between 2009 and 2013 , was awarded a. accused that the evaluation did not meet scientific standards. GiveDirectly wants to fulfill this and would be the first large-scale field study in the discussion about an unconditional basic income. A first interim report is already available after a year.

criticism

On March 11, 2014, Kevin Starr and Laura Hattendorf published an opinion on GiveDirectly, in which they presented money transfer services as an important experiment and less as a solution. The GiveDirectly project has the effect of lifting people out of absolute poverty for a year; However, sustainability is low compared to many development cooperation measures. For example, a one-off payment of 382 US dollars would have resulted in unemployed young people in Uganda having an income 41 percent higher than before after four years. That was only $ 11 a month more, which is $ 382 in three years. For example, one dollar of unconditional income created about one dollar in additional income after three years. In contrast, an irrigation project in a comparable region generated more than three times the additional income compared to the original investment. A project that promoted the procurement of reading glasses even achieved a 60-fold effect. These comparison projects have been carefully evaluated.

The aforementioned randomized study by GiveDirectly in Kenya saw a 28 percent increase in income for every $ 500 paid out after the first year. Extrapolated over three years, the additional income generated per dollar employed would be less than one dollar. The number of hungry children fell from 65 to 57 percent, but there were no visible effects on education or health. Even short-term psychosocial improvements were not lasting. Most of the money was spent on repairs to hut roofs. Investments in drinking water purification, education and non-agricultural business start-ups did not take place. The organization also noted with astonishment that 40 percent of the residents of the Kenyan region of Homa Bay turned down the offer, also because rumors said it was linked to satanic cults.

GiveWell's Holden Karnofsky published a response to Starr and Hattendorf's criticism in which he questions the way they measure impact. GiveDirectly also addressed the points of criticism in her blog and argued against a lack of evidence, among other things.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ GiveDirectly Announces a 10 Year Basic Income Pilot . April 15, 2016.
  2. ↑ A charity's radical experiment: giving 6,000 Kenyans enough money to escape poverty . April 14, 2016.
  3. ↑ Mega-experiment: Basic incomes for 6000 Kenyans .
  4. ^ A b Nicolai Kwasniewski: Basic Income: Equal Money for Everyone - the experiment from April 21, 2016, SPON, last accessed on April 21, 2016
  5. ↑ KENYA: FROM UNCONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFERS TOWARDS UNCONDITIONAL BASIC INCOME, a Randomized Controlled Trial to Come - Basic Income News . November 26, 2016.
  6. ↑ Nicolai Kwasniewski: Equal money for everyone - the experiment .
  7. ↑ Kevin Starr, Laura Hattendorf: GiveDirectly? Not so fast. In: Standford Social Innovation Review , March 11, 2014.
  8. ↑ Kevin Starr, Laura Hattendorf: GiveDirectly? Not so fast. In: Standford Social Innovation Review , March 11, 2014.
  9. ↑ Chris Weller: A revolutionary experiment in giving 6,000 people free money may face a surprising challenge. In: businessinsider.de, September 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ Holden Karnofsky: Big Impact vs. Big Promises . Stanford Social Innovation Review . March 20, 2014. Accessed April 1, 2020.
  11. ^ What's the hype evidence? . GiveDirectly (blog). March 17, 2014. Accessed April 1, 2020.