Case study A: Non-contributory social cash transfers in Zambia

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) proclaimed the equality of all human beings in dignity and rights. The right to social security, however, has been taken more seriously only since the 2000s, through calls for ‘Social security for all’ and ‘Leaving no one behind’. The book investigates a major response, social cash transfers to the poor. The idea of simply giving money to the poor had been rejected by all major development organizations until the 1990s, but since the early 2000s, social cash transfers have mushroomed in the global South and on agendas of international organizations. How come? What programmes have emerged in which countries? How inclusive are the programmes? What models have international organizations devised? Based on unique quantitative and qualitative data, the book takes stock of all identifiable cash transfers in all Southern countries and of the views of all major international organizations. The author argues that cash transfers reflect broader changes: new understandings of development, of human rights, of global risks, of the social responsibility of governments, and of universalism. Social cash transfers have turned the poor from objects of charity into rights-holders and agents of their own lives and of development. A repertoire of cash transfers has evolved that has enhanced social citizenship, but is limited by weak political commitments. The book also contributes to a general theory of social policy in development contexts, through a constructivist sociological approach that complements the dominant approaches from welfare economics and political economy and includes a theory of social assistance.

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Towards a Theory of Social Assistance

The Global Rise of Social Cash Transfers ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198754336.003.0010 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 335-353

Author(s):

Lutz Leisering

Keyword(s):

Social Security ◽

Social Assistance ◽

Cash Transfers ◽

Political Support ◽

Social Citizenship ◽

The South ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Global North ◽

Social Cash Transfers ◽

North And South

This chapter sets out a theory of social assistance (including social cash transfers), which covers both the global North and South, and discusses the future of income security in the South beyond social cash transfers. It is argued that social assistance constitutes a small but vital component of social security and social citizenship—‘residual but fundamental’. It is further argued that social assistance is ‘fundamental but not comprehensive’, i.e. the challenge of universalizing social citizenship extends beyond relieving poverty. To confront the problem of inequality and get the middle classes on board, cash transfers need to be embedded in a broader, multi-tiered architecture of social security, which increases political support also for cash transfers. Still, despite the fundamental contributions of social assistance and the positive effects of cash transfers in many countries of the South, these programmes remain Janus-faced, entailing inclusions and exclusions, recognition and stigma, autonomy and social control.

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Social Cash Transfers in the Global South

The Global Rise of Social Cash Transfers ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198754336.003.0005 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 139-212

Author(s):

Lutz Leisering

Keyword(s):

Global South ◽

Cash Transfers ◽

Cash Transfer ◽

Systemic Approach ◽

Social Citizenship ◽

Left Behind ◽

Social Cash Transfers

Social cash transfers have mushroomed in the global South since the 2000s. This chapter maps the new landscape of cash transfers. What programmes have emerged in which countries, and how firmly are they institutionalized? How inclusive are the programmes, who is included, and who is left behind? Do cash transfers contribute to social citizenship? How do countries and continents differ? The chapter draws on a unique self-constructed database, which covers all identifiable cash transfer programmes in all Southern countries, and defines new indicators of inclusiveness. While the literature focuses on cash transfer programmes, the chapter focuses on entitlements to cash transfers (entitlement approach) and on cash transfer regimes (the ensemble of all cash transfer programmes in a country; systemic approach). The analysis reveals a massive spread of entitlements, with limitations, and great variations between programmes and between countries, indicating different notions of who is deserving and who is not.

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Models of Social Cash Transfers

The Global Rise of Social Cash Transfers ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198754336.003.0004 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 105-138

Author(s):

Lutz Leisering

Keyword(s):

International Organizations ◽

Paradigm Shift ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Cash Transfers ◽

Partial Models ◽

Social Cash Transfers ◽

Clear Idea

Around 2000, poverty had moved to the top of global agendas, but there was no clear idea what policies would be appropriate. By the mid-2000s, a consensus among international organizations on social cash transfers had emerged. This chapter investigates what models of cash transfers were proposed by international organizations, and why, considering that global actors of all political leanings had rejected the idea of cash transfers well into the 1990s. The analysis draws on unique qualitative data on all major international organizations involved. It is argued that the idea of social cash transfers marks a paradigm shift in global anti-poverty policy, driven by pioneering country examples, sectional interests of international organizations, and new discursive frames. However, the idea of cash transfers was discursively reduced to four partial models that define the field to the present day, reflecting mandates of lead organizations and adding up to a fragmented and incomplete universalism.

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Making Sense of a Quiet Revolution

The Global Rise of Social Cash Transfers ◽

10.1093/oso/9780198754336.003.0001 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 3-18

Author(s):

Lutz Leisering

Keyword(s):

Global South ◽

Cash Transfers ◽

Cash Transfer ◽

Social Citizenship ◽

Georg Simmel ◽

Making Sense ◽

The Poor ◽

Research Questions ◽

Social Cash Transfers ◽

Set Up

This chapter introduces the topic of the book, social cash transfers for the poor in the global South, and depicts the research questions, theories, methods, indicators, and data of the analysis. The research questions relate to what kind of social cash transfer programmes have been set up in the global South, how international organizations came to accept the concept and constructed models of cash transfers, what factors made for the global spread of cash transfers, and if cash transfers have brought social citizenship to the poor. Drawing on Georg Simmel, T. H. Marshall, John W. Meyer, and Franz-Xaver Kaufmann, the theoretical approach of the book combines sociological theories of social policy, constructivist institutionalism, and world society theory, to complement the dominant approaches from welfare economics and political economy. Research includes qualitative and quantitative data and methods, with a unique large N data set. A figure depicts the research plan of the book.

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