Unusually in-depth conversations about the world's most pressing problems and what you can do to solve them. Subscribe by searching for '80000 Hours' wherever you get podcasts. Produced by Keiran Harris. Hosted by Rob Wiblin and Luisa Rodriguez.
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#169 – Paul Niehaus on whether cash transfers cause economic growth, and keeping theft to acceptable levels
"One of our earliest supporters and a dear friend of mine, Mark Lampert, once said to me, “The way I think about it is, imagine that this money were already in the hands of people living in poverty. If I could, would I want to tax it and then use it to finance other projects that I think would benefit them?”
I think that's an interesting thought experiment -- and a good one -- to say, “Are there cases in which I think that's justifiable?” — Paul Niehaus
In today’s episode, host Luisa Rodriguez interviews Paul Niehaus — co-founder of GiveDirectly — on the case for giving unconditional cash to the world's poorest households.
Links to learn more, summary and full transcript.
They cover:
- The empirical evidence on whether giving cash directly can drive meaningful economic growth
- How the impacts of GiveDirectly compare to USAID employment programmes
- GiveDirectly vs GiveWell’s top-recommended charities
- How long-term guaranteed income affects people's risk-taking and investments
- Whether recipients prefer getting lump sums or monthly instalments
- How GiveDirectly tackles cases of fraud and theft
- The case for universal basic income, and GiveDirectly’s UBI studies in Kenya, Malawi, and Liberia
- The political viability of UBI
- Plenty more
Producer and editor: Keiran Harris
Audio Engineering Lead: Ben Cordell
Technical editing: Dominic Armstrong and Milo McGuire
Additional content editing: Luisa Rodriguez and Katy Moore
Transcriptions: Katy Moore