1 billion people in developing countries participate in social safety net programs which have been s
“Governments in the developing world are increasingly providing social assistance programs for their disadvantaged citizens. For example, in a recent review of programs worldwide, Gentilini et al (2014) find that 119 developing countries have implemented at least one type of unconditional cash assistance program and 52 countries have conditional cash transfer programs for poor households. Thus, on net, they find that 1 billion people in developing countries participate in at least one social safety net….These programs serve to transfer funds to low-income individuals and have been shown to have led to reductions in poverty (Fiszbein and Schady 2009) and to have positive effects on education (Schultz 2004, Glewwe and Olinto 2004, Maluccio and Flores 2005) and health services (Gertler 2000, Gertler 2004, Attanasio et al. 2005)….Aggregating evidence from randomized evaluations of seven cash transfer programs, we find no effects of transfers on work behavior, either for men or women.”Abhijit Banerjee et al., "Debunking the Stereotype of the Lazy Welfare Recipient: Evidence from Cash Transfer Programs Worldwide," Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Economics, Oct. 2015, Accessed Oct. 23, 2015.http://economics.mit.edu/files/10849