New Data Reveals Which Approach to Helping the Poor Actually Works

An Ethiopian man examines his crop near Korom in northern Tigray province, November 25, 2004.
REUTERS/Radu Sigheti

CLICK HERE - RESEARCH - A multifaceted program causes lasting progress for the very poor: Evidence from six countries

reuters.com - by Dean Karlan - June 17, 2015

For years, policymakers have debated different approaches to helping the poor . . . new data, published in May after a nine-year, six-country study, offers resounding evidence for a strategy that works.  An approach known as a "Graduation" program is such a strategy.

Organizations employing this approach had been offering participants a “productive asset” (an asset that generates income, such as livestock or supplies to sell in a small store), training on how to use it, healthcare to keep them healthy enough to work, a small amount of food or money to support themselves while they learned to make a living (so they didn’t have to sell the asset immediately, merely to eat), access to a savings account to build up a buffer for future emergencies, and weekly coaching in areas like overcoming unexpected obstacles and meeting their savings goals.

. . . we saw increases in mental and physical health, income, assets, and reductions in hunger — not just at the end of the program, but when we revisited the participants a year later.

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Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
http://www.poverty-action.org/node/8951

IPA - Ultra Poor Graduation Pilots
http://www.poverty-action.org/ultrapoor