Theories of Change for Cash Transfers (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 913)

Abstract

Query Identify any theories of change developed for cash transfer programmes in low-income countries. Overview This report gathers together examples from the literature which attempt to explain how and why change happens as a result of cash transfers (CTs). While there is a large body of literature examining social protection and cash transfers’ impacts on poverty reduction and development, there is much less on understanding the mechanisms and pathways by which this happens. The report adopts a broad understanding of the concept of ‘Theory of Change’ (ToC) as including pathways, causal relationships, and underlying assumptions about how change happens. It first presents a selection of theories of change about how cash transfers are expected to work in general, drawn from academic literature, and then a selection of theories as used in a few specific cash transfer programmes. Diagrams of change processes are included