This is the second of seven parts in the Devex series "Foreign aid effectiveness: A radical rethink," written by Diana Ohlbaum — a former deputy director of USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives and senior professional staff member of the two congressional panels overseeing U.S. foreign affairs.
Looking at the situation in Iraq, I’ve often wondered if we might have done more good by simply dropping dinars out of airplanes than by doling out billions of dollars for projects that failed to outlast our military presence or never even got off the ground.
Outlandish as that might sound, there’s increasing evidence to suggest that unconditional cash transfers to ordinary citizens are one of the fairest, most cost-effective and most impactful ways to alleviate poverty and stimulate economic growth.