-
Does Universal Basic Income Really Work? Understanding the Early Findings from the World’s Largest UBI Experiment, and Their Implications for Financial Resilience
While the concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a poverty solution has been widely debated, there has been limited evidence of its effectiveness. But as Tavneet Suri at MIT and Stella Klemperer at Flourish Ventures explain, that's beginning to change. They share early results from a 12-year randomized control trial exploring the long-term impact of UBI on 23,000 people in 195 villages in rural Kenya — the largest and longest UBI experiment to-date. The findings offer compelling evidence of UBI's impact on financial resilience, and can help inform the design of other UBI and cash transfer programs.
- Categories
- Finance
-
Wrap-Around Services Are Changing the Face of Microfinance – For the Better: New Research Shows the Impact of Going Beyond Credit
While loans have always been at the heart of microfinance, credit alone is often not enough to create meaningful impact. To address this, many providers offer additional wrap-around services — from training and health support to savings, insurance and payment solutions — aimed at increasing the impact of their loans. Devin Olmack at 60 Decibels shares findings from 60 Decibels' 2023 Microfinance Index, based on conversations with over 32,000 borrowers across 32 countries, that show the increasing need for a spectrum of services that go beyond microcredit.
- Categories
- Finance
-
UNCTAD Calls for Bold Global Action to Decarbonize Shipping and Ensure a Just Transition
The Review of Maritime Transport 2023 urges swift action and system-wide collaboration to decarbonize maritime transport amid growing carbon emissions and regulatory uncertainty.
- Categories
- Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Global
-
Using AI to Transform Impact Measurement: Overcoming Language Barriers in Global Development Research
Language and cultural barriers often create a “listening divide” between the providers and beneficiaries of global development programs. According to Daryl Collins and Pravarakya Reddy Battula at Decodis, these barriers make it difficult to develop effective anti-poverty solutions — and artificial intelligence (AI) can play a key role in addressing them. They discuss how Decodis is using AI technology to facilitate survey data collection and analysis in its poverty alleviation research, and highlight the role human intelligence must still play in guiding these efforts.
- Categories
- Technology
-
Google to Launch a Centre for Climate-Smart Agriculture
Google’s new research centre is a positive response to the expectations of the World Food Programme (WFP).
- Categories
- Agriculture, Environment, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Press Release: Financial Health Pulse 2023: Share of Financially Vulnerable Americans Grows to 17% of Population, Climbing to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Largest Pulse data collection finds growing financial health inequities based on race, ethnicity, and age.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- North America
-
Rainforest Carbon Credit Schemes Misleading and Ineffective, Finds Report
System not fit for carbon offsetting, puts Indigenous communities at risk and should be replaced with new approach, say researchers.
- Categories
- Environment, Technology
- Region
- Global
-
Press Release: More Than 1.1 Billion African People Unlikely to Have Access to Clean Cooking Fuels and Technologies by 2050, New Study Predicts
A new Loughborough University study on clean energy accessibility in Africa forecasts that 1.1 billion people will be without eco-friendly cooking fuels or technologies by 2050.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa