The case for cash: do cash transfers work in practice?

Subscribe to the Policy Institute mailing list for invites to future events

 

Could giving people cash directly, with few or no strings attached, be a better way to tackle poverty?

Cash transfers are increasingly debated as a simpler and more efficient approach – one that restores dignity and agency to recipients while supporting better life outcomes. But how effective are they in practice, and what role could they play in UK policy?

This online event, hosted with the Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI), will explore what the evidence says about cash transfers, as well as revealing findings from a pioneering new trial, carried out by the Experimental Government Team at the Policy Institute and supported by CHI, which examines the effects of an unconditional £2,000 cash transfer to young people leaving care.

Our panel will discuss how cash transfers compare to more traditional interventions; what the evidence shows on wellbeing, health and stability; and what the implications are for policymakers and local authorities considering cash-based approaches to social problems.

Speakers

• Professor Michael Sanders, Director, Experimental Government Team at the Policy Institute
• Dr Lígia Teixeira, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Homelessness Impact
• Professor Bobby Duffy, Director of the Policy Institute (chair)