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Comment by iends | Hacker News Reader

You should read the book “When Helping Hurts” to get a better idea of the harm you can cause by just giving poor people money without addressing root causes and more systematic issues.

In fact, I will buy you a copy if you are interested.

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I would love a copy, if you don’t mind. I’m certainly open to criticisms of my approach, but looking at “When Helping Hurts”, it looks like they approach the problem from the context of Christian ministry in the First World, which is far different from poverty alleviation in the developing world. In that context, there has actually been a lot of research in recent years on the effect of cash transfers, as they’re called, and the effects have been found to be positive. The GiveDirectly website is a good place to start if you want to know more about the evidence for this approach.

You give a man a fish, he eats for a day. He eats for a day Don't imagine that doesn't matter. Its easy to give up because its not permanent. Nothing is permanent, but helping is helping, no matter what the cynics say.

The really interesting thing about cash transfers in the developing world is how often the funds are used not just to meet immediate needs but are invested in some form or another. GiveDirectly has tons of examples, but it may be anything from paying for a child’s education to buying a motorcycle to start a delivery business to, and this is my favorite, upgrading from a thatch roof to a tin one (this is an interesting win and one that might not be obvious to outsiders: not only is the tin roof more effective but it is also cheaper in the long run because the thatch roof has to be replaced twice a year at considerable cost in both labor and materials whereas the tin roof lasts for years; and this is a perfect example of how the poor can get locked in to an expensive cycle for lack of capital up front).

I’ve seen the same in the people I’ve given to. No one just wants to take the money and do nothing and become dependent. Everyone, literally everyone to a one, wants to start a business.

What happens when the people you are helping become dependent on you and you disappear?

The discussion isn’t helping or not helping, but determine how to best help and allocate your resources accordingly.

As long as it doesn't turn into stasis, where nobody is helped at all because we're not sure its the perfect solution. Which cynical me thinks is selfish and shortsighted.

And, what happens when they eat for a day and then you disappear is, they ate for a day.

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