Timely Cash

Every country provides some form of direct cash transfer to people in need, and this provision of money reaches hundreds of millions of people worldwide. But these provisions are often accompanied by heated debates on whether and how such assistance should be provided. Seeking a way to better understand the current global debates on cash transfers, Timely Cash provides a historical overview of the concept. It explores the 2,500-yearhistory of cash transfers to trace the origins of cash transfer programmes, tracks how they have evolved over time and spread across the world, and considers the longstanding debates that surroundthem.By connecting these historical perspectives with the present day, identifying reoccurring patterns, and codifying diversity in experiences, Ugo Gentilini illuminates the roots of modern cash transfer dilemmas and reveals the surprising lessons the past can offer for these contemporary debates.

This detailed and engaging account of cash transfer programs over time and space invites the reader to reflect on timeless questions about poverty and whether its causes and solutions lie with individuals or society. Oriana Bandiera, Professor of Economics, London School of Economics
This global history of cash transfers is a tour de force; a brilliant, carefully researched and well-written must-read for anyone advocating or questioning cash transfers across the globe. It shows how cash transfers are more than money: they reflect the debates, struggles and challenges across politics and societies throughout history, and as they are mirrored today. This book is more than about cash transfers: it is also a book about insights and worldviews about poverty and the human condition, in the past and today. Stefan Dercon, Professor of Economic Policy, University of Oxford
This inspiring book is an essential reference to policymakers, professionals and academia. It is an intellectual piece that transcends history and reflects on the ancient and contemporary social protection from an interdisciplinary perspective. It also challenges the concept of rights and duties between the citizen and the government from a humanitarian, though rational and socio-economic approach to provision of social welfare. This piece of art would not come except from a dedicated human, scholar and professional person like Ugo Gentilini. Nivine El-Kabbag, former Minister of Social Solidarity, Egypt
A fascinating read that traces cash transfers throughout histories, ancient empires, modern nation-building, economic transformations, and the COVID-19 global pandemic… As Ugo Gentilini has meticulously researched and convincingly argued, the history of cash transfer is the history of human progress, and the sacrifice and societal turbulence entailed. Buried in this history is a road map to address not all, but some of the poverty generators found in market-oriented systems. Ibrahim Elbadawi, Managing Director, Economic Research Forum and former Minister of Finance, Sudan
This book is truly a tour de force, taking us on a journey across many countries and way back in time to understand the foundations of transfer programs today. It offers real insights into our current policy debates - it is genuinely a must read for anyone interested in how to alleviate poverty and improve social protection for all. Rema Hanna, Jeffrey Cheah Professor of South-East Asia Studies, Harvard Kennedy School
This extraordinary book's long run historical perspective provides a rich vein of insights, deftly integrated by the author into the results of detailed modern quantitative research on the last half century of cash transfer programs. What we get is a masterful account of the origins and evolution of cash transfers, and the identification of core factors which have been constant despite the variations of time and place. Through it all, the author explodes and exposes myths, and draws lessons which will be helpful to policy analysts and policy makers everywhere. Ravi Kanbur, Professor of Economics, Cornell University
A masterful exploration… Gentilini' s work stands out for its depth and breadth. Timely Cash is an essential read, a crucial resource for understanding the past, present, and future of cash transfers as a cornerstone of social protection and economic policy. Cina Lawson, Minister of Digital Economy and Transformation, Togo
The Bible tells us that there is nothing new under the sun and, in this book, Gentilini tells us that the same is true about cash transfers. Read it, and you will find out that many of our current debates are not current at all, and you will learn a lot of useful facts and discussions from this 2,500-year history. A wonderful book that will widen your horizons. Santiago Levy, Senior Fellow at Brookings and former Deputy Minister of Finance, Mexico
This book is among the most awe-inspiring and well-researched pieces of scholarship that I've read in years. It opened my eyes to how sophisticated government social programs have been over many centuries and world regions -- from ancient Rome and China to early modern Spain -- and how much we can learn from looking back into the past to design effective public programs today. Edward Miguel, Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
Timely Cash offers an insightful journey through the history of cash transfers. The book highlights the evolution of social policies and welfare systems over time and reveals that the arguments used in debating the usefulness of cash transfers often are not new. Ugo Gentilini's work allows scholars and policymakers to evaluate the long-term effects of these interventions, and to derive valuable lessons for the development of contemporary social protection programs that are responsive to current societal needs. Patrizio Pagano, Head of Secretariat to the Governing Board of the Bank of Italy
This fascinating book contains a lot of new and exciting material on the comparative history of cash transfers. Redistribution has a long history, and there's much to learn from it regarding the strength and weaknesses of cash transfers and the need for in-kind transfers and public goods. A must-read! Thomas Piketty, Professor of Economics and Economic History, Paris School of Economics
A fascinating breath of fresh air on thinking around social protection that effortlessly crosses boundaries and connects framing, contexts, motivations and actions. Ugo Gentilini's masterly exploration of a subject bearing relevance to past, present and future alike will be a treat whether the reader is an expert, a layman, a policymaker or a political actor. Timely Cash avoids the well-known pitfalls of being narrowly prescriptive on a policy choice engaging mind in both the global south and the global north. Hossain Zillur Rahman, Executive Chairman, Power and Participation Research Centre, Bangladesh
Ugo Gentilini provides a magisterial account of debates over social protection, demonstrating emphatically that contemporary debates have histories dating back not just decades or centuries but even millennia, not just in North-West Europe but globally. This book will change the way we think about social protection. Jeremy Seekings, Professor of Political Studies and Sociology, University of Cape Town
A fascinating tour of the history of the use of cash transfers across the centuries - providing rich lessons which are highly relevant to this day. Recommended reading for everyone interested in the social, political and economic impacts of cash transfers - and their transformative potential in addressing poverty and exclusion. Rory Stewart, Host of The Rest Is Politics podcast and former Secretary of State for International Development, United Kingdom
Ugo Gentilini's book is a demonstration model of the enormous value for public policy practitioners of a thorough understanding of relevant research by historians. This clearly-written book is a must-read for policy professionals; and also for historians to inspire them to communicate their important work more widely. Simon Szreter, Professor of History and Public Policy, University of Cambridge
Cash transfers have existed for 2500 years and are now present all over the world. No book has ever provided such a comprehensive overview of past and present cash transfer schemes, not so many insights into the economic, ideological and political causes of their rise, demise and stunning variety. Philippe Van Parijs, Professor of Economic, Social and Political Sciences, University of Louvain
Money matters to those who have it but more to those who don't. Ugo Gentilini' s mind-changing book demonstrates that societies across the world have been grappling with the human and policy implications of this truism for millennia. Progress has proved to be neither inevitable nor uniform such that insights from the distant past can have relevance today. One such insight is that society benefits from us sharing our money with those that have less. Robert Walker, Professor, Jingshi Academy, Beijing Normal University
This book is a fascinating account of the history of cash transfers for the poor. We tend to think of cash transfers as a recent invention, but Ugo Gentilini shows us that this kind of social assistance has roots that go back centuries, even as far as classical Athens! The book takes us on a tour of the history of these programs around the world, and shows that many challenges governments confront today have been confronted time and again throughout the history of human civilization. Benjamin Olken, Professor of Microeconomics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ugo Gentilini is Lead Economist at the World Bank. With over two decades of professional experience in social protection research and practice, Gentilini has published extensively on various issues related to social assistance. His work includes Cash Transfers in Pandemic Times (World Bank, 2022), Exploring Universal Basic Income, with Margaret Grosh, Jamele Rigolini, and Ruslan Yemtsov (World Bank, 2020), and The 1.5 BillionPeople Question, with Harold Alderman and Ruslan Yemtsov (World Bank, 2017).

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