Why we (still) don’t recommend GiveDirectly

Abstract

GiveDirectly is a charity founded in 2008 that provides unconditional cash transfers to households in extreme poverty. GiveDirectly is currently among GiveWell’s top recommended charities, but doesn’t feature on our own list of recommended charities. In this post, I’ll explain why we haven’t changed our mind about GiveDirectly since we last addressed the issue in late 2012. In particular, I’ll discuss the results of a recent randomized control trial (RCT) from November 2013, which some have taken to answer skepticism about unconditional cash transfers. While generally positive, the results of this RCT also provide evidence that transfers are less cost-effective than was indicated by estimates made by GiveWell when we last commented on their recommendation. It goes without saying that we have great admiration for GiveWell’s work, and much of our own research is heavily indebted to theirs. However, on this point we continue to respectfully disagree.