Social transfers: Stimulating household-level growth

This policy brief presents in two pages how social transfers can contribute to the fight against poverty. Indeed, social transfers encourage consumption and generate economics growth at household level. Experience shows that social transfers channel investment in human capital and productive assets. They can also increase the efficiency of households' resource allocation by reducing vulnerability. However, the policy brief reminds the reader that social-transfer program design is crucial so that it may generate economic growth: transfers must be regular and reliable, channelled in a way that is adequate to the local context and complemented by interventions aimed at accumulation and preservation of assets.

CPRC (Chronic Poverty Research Center) - January 2010