The Political Economy of Development - Essay Example

The Political Economy of Development Policies to tackle poverty with an emphasis to Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs) The diminution of the persisting poverty level in a state is a mammoth task for each and every government. So government may have to try various approaches to tackle this problem. The common problems that affect the poor in a country are associated with the health and education fields. So, many of the developing countries at present, are trying hard to achieve poverty eradication through a method called Conditional Cash Transfers (CCTs). It consists of the “programs that transfer cash, generally to poor households, on the condition that those Households make pre specified investments in the human capital of their children” (Fiszbein & Schady, 2009. p.1). The program conditions that the children should be enrolled to public schools, timely vaccination and regular check-ups have to be maintained and pregnant women have to be cared to access cash from the government. This makes a rapid change in the household income of the families under poor section, cutting down the level of poverty to a substantial level. Ariel Fiszbein, Norbert Rudiger, and Francisco H. G. Ferreira in their book, Conditional cash transfers: reducing present and future poverty define the conditional cash transfers as, “Many programs condition the transfer both on enrollment and regular attendance of the house hold’s children in school and on regular health center visits for the younger children and often the pregnant women” (Fiszbein, Schady & Ferreira, 2009, p.86). The essay analyzes the various elements associated with CCTs in different countries. The women and children are the most affected in the poor section of the society. This program tries to eliminate the ill conditions of the women and children and brings social protection in terms of education and health. Government provides funding for the needs of pregnant women and children belonging to poor families to get assistance from doctors and health practitioners and to get proper education respectively. “The cash is generally granted to families (not individuals) for food consumption, conditional on household members complying with the country’s protocol of preventive basic and reproductive health visits” (Brière & Rawlings, 2006, p.9). As it directly envisages to the development of the poor sections on health and education matters, the results are more productive and positive. The conditional cash transfer program is a success in the countries where it is practiced. Gaspar Fajth and Claudia say, “The increasing popularity of CCTs is one of the most significant developments in global social policy since to the expansion of social security in industrialized countries” (Fajth & Vinay, 2010, p.1). The major countries that practice this program are Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Indonesia, Colombia, Turkey, Egypt, Jamaica, Pakistan, etc. It can be seen that many of the Latin American countries practice this program. It has begun in Latin American countries in 1990s and proven a success there. Many other developing countries are trying to adopt this program for the poor sections of those countries. Different countries have offered many well fare polices along with this program. For example in El Salvador CCTs along with the basic programs include “infrastructure investments in schools, health centers and water and sanitation.” And in Mexico the resources are kept for meeting the “additional demands of the program” (Brière & Rawlings, 2006, p.9). The Bolsa Familia Program (PBF) in Brazil state that, “According to the annual households survey (PNAD), between 2002 and 2008, there was a reduction in unemployment and an increase in formalization of labour relations as the economy experienced a recovery after the crisis of the 1990s” (Machado et al, 2011). The CCTs in many ways benefit the well being of children and women in the developing countries. The article entitled How Cash Transfers Boost Work and Economic Security states that “not only did the cash transfer allow households to build up assets, notably through the accusation of livestock, but they also enabled many households to reduce the distress renting out of land.” The writer further says that it “enabled more people to work locally, reducing the pressure to migrate temporarily in search of cash income” (Standing, 2007, p.14). The conditional cash programs envisaged the growth of economy along with the developments of the poor families. In Mexico an anti poverty program named PROGRESSA could benefit “approximately 2.6 million families in 50,000 rural villages, which is about 40 percent of rural families and 10 percent of all families in Mexico (Gertler, 2004, p.336). The same is the case of the program in different countries where the conditional cash transfer program is practiced. It changed the social position of the poor households to a substantial level. Along with the benefits of CCTs certain elements are to be taken care to improve the efficiency of the program. It is to be noted that while a number of poor families get assistance through this, a few are marginalized even in it. At present not all the countries undergo the quality research of the CCTs. In the Third International Conference on CCT Program, only two, out of forty five presentations, reported on the qualitative research findings. The World Bank and the Inter- American Development Bank, which have involved in the funding of the program, “have shown an increasing appreciation for qualitative methods in CCTs evaluations” (Adato, 2008, p.21). So a clear cut research on the beneficiary level of the CCTs is mandatory to evaluate the success of the program. The evaluation of the CCTs has proved that it has been a great success in the countries where it was done. Laura B. Rawlings and Gloria M. Rubio established that “Evaluation results for programs launched in Colombia, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Turkey reveal successes in addressing many of the failures in delivering social assistance, such as weak poverty targeting, disincentive effects, and limited welfare impacts” (Rawlings & Rubio, 2005). So in all levels of social security, Conditional Cash Transfers play a crucial role in eradicating the social inequality and thereby developing the country. Soon after the launching of CCTs in Latin American countries it has proved to be a great success in uplifting the poor sections of the society in terms of education and health. The CCTs have been extended to the most of the developing countries in the present world under different names. Even though the primary intention of the program is to uplift the education and health aspects in the poor sections of the society, it extends its area to the overall development of the families. The success of this program can be further extended if a qualitative research is done on the usefulness of it. It can surely be said that the part played by the CCTs is immense in the poverty eradication programs of the developing countries in the world. Reference List Adato M 2008, Integrating Survey and Ethnographic Methods to Evaluate Conditional Cash Transfer Programs, Intl Food Policy Res Inst. Brière Bénédicte de la., Rawlings, LB 2006, Examining Conditional Cash Transfer Programs: A Role for Increased Social Inclusion? siteresources.worldbank.org, viewed 12 November 2011, . Fiszbein A, Schady N 2009, Conditional cash transfers reducing present and future poverty, A World Bank Policy Research Report, viewed 12 November 2011, . Fiszbein A, Schady NR & Ferreira Francisco HG 2009, Conditional cash transfers: reducing present and future poverty, Illustrated ed. World Bank Publications. Fajth G, Vinay C 2010, Conditional Cash Transfers: a Global Perspective, MDG insights, viewed 12 November 2011, . Gertler P 2004, ‘Do conditional cash transfers improve health? Evidence from PROGRESA’s control randomized experiment,’ JSTOR, Vol. 94, No. 2, viewed 13 November 2011, . Machado AF, Fontes GG, Antigo MF, Gonzalez R & Soares FV 2011, Bolsa Familia as Seen Through the Lens of the Decent Work Agenda, International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth, viewed 13 November 2011, . Rawlings LB, Rubio GM 2005, ‘Evaluating the Impact of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs,’ World Bank Res Obs, Oxford Journals, Vol 20, no.1, viewed 13 November 2011, . Standing G 2007, How Cash Transfers Boost Work and Economic Security, Economic & Social Affairs, un.org, viewed 13 November 2011, . Read More