17. Conditional cash transfers to increase the number of children receiving education

Mexico pioneered the idea of Conditional Cash Transfers (the OPORTUNIDADES program originally PROGRESA which was launched in 1998).

Hats off, first, to Mexico for pioneering the idea of conditional cash transfers to poor households.

Mexico pioneered the idea of Conditional Cash Transfers (the OPORTUNIDADES program originally PROGRESA which was launched in 1998). CCT programs have subsequently been emulated by many countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

A second option is Conditional Cash Transfer Programs, which provide cash payments to poor households whose children attend school regularly.

Harnessing the Remittance Boom

A plan to reduce poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean should go far beyond conditional cash transfers and early childhood interventions in nutrition and education.

Conditional cash transfers are another option for Latin American policy makers to consider.

CCT programs have subsequently been emulated by many countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

However, conditional cash transfer programs have been quite successful in improving various human development indicators.

While the long term viability and effectiveness of conditional cash transfer programs in Brazil and Mexico is questionable, these anti poverty initiatives certainly are better designed than Chávez s massive, blanket subsidies on everything from poultry and flour to housing and gasoline.

A switch from cash to food transfers was made in a significant number of districts where cash transfers were most problematic.

Other highly ranked policy options include the establishment of independent agencies to evaluate rigorously government spending programs, and more use of conditional cash transfer programs that provide regular payments to poor households for meeting conditions like sending children to school.

A bolder solution would be direct cash transfers to the poor.

In 2005, remittances I just took one country, Nigeria but increasing dramatically.

This is the context of the ministerial conference of the least developed countries on remittances from migrant workers.

These remittances are vitally important for economic stability in several African countries.

We are also proposing in the General Assembly a reduction in the cost of international money remittances from migrant workers.

A wire transfer can be made from one bank account to another bank account or through a transfer of cash at a cash office.

New cash transfer procedures are being introduced which are a major, simplifying change for UNICEF and its partners.

Governments, facing pressure to increase spending, need to develop targeted social safety nets that protect their poorest people through cash or near cash transfers.

We showed that oxytocin infusion increases generosity in unilateral monetary transfers by 80 percent.

Some countries have already experimented with such programs, and India is preparing to begin providing cash transfers to its 300 million poor citizens.

In any case, the cash transfer debate is no longer limited to those in northern development circles.

Social safety transfers by the government are divided into three broad categories, which include cash transfers, in kind transfers, and public works programs.

When the value of non cash government benefits, like Medicaid, Medicare, and Food Stamps, are also included, total transfers become extremely progressive.

Many of the transfers from the federal government especially basic social support like food stamps vary little with the local business cycle.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore is awaiting resolution by FATF of the issue of the de minimis threshold before implementing Special Recommendation VII on Wire Transfers.

UNFPA will pursue this with the implementation of the UNDG guidelines on cash transfer modalities to be implemented in 2006.

Meanwhile, universal social programs have improved human welfare much more than targeted and conditional programs. However, conditional cash transfer programs have been quite successful in improving various human development indicators.

Improve Australia's terrorism financing regime through strengthening criminalisation of the financing of terrorism, ensuring coverage of alternative remittance dealers, wire transfers and cash couriers.

Contingent convertible bonds, or cocos, have been proposed as a solution to this problem.

The Team has also learned that the Monetary Authority of Singapore has made changes to its regulatory policies in order to promote the use of the formal banking sector for money transfers from Singapore to other countries.

Transfers and remittances

Many countries in Latin America have responded to high levels of poverty by implementing new, or altering old, social assistance programs such as conditional cash transfers.

Argentina Conditional approval of telecommunications merger

Migration related issues (remittances)

Something new is called for, and cash transfers directly to poor people could be an alternative but only as a part of a longer term vision of partner countries welfare systems.

Policies are needed to support technology transfer that facilitates remittances or investments by making such transfers less costly.

Peace came about only with the total and unconditional defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

So that is where the US is now in the middle of a financial crisis, with the economy sliding into recession, monetary policy already at maximum easing, and fiscal transfers impotent.

Because of rising inequality, the overwhelming majority of Mexicans live no better off than they did 15 years ago. (Indeed, the only part of Mexican development that has been a great success has been the rise in incomes and living standards that comes from increased migration to the US, and increased remittances sent back to Mexico.)

In order to reduce the operating costs incurred by banks providing remittances, the fee payable to the Monetary Authority for a limited purpose branch licence is significantly lower than the fee for a full service branch.

The remittance flow continues to be buoyant.

Transfer to the biennium support budget