Chris Blattman
Economist and political scientist at the University of Chicago's Harris School, studying conflict, organised crime and development; author of Why We Fight.
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What they believe
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Cash transfers are the index fund of development: the benchmark every actively managed aid programme should have to beat.
You can think of cash transfers like the index fund of development (making GiveDirectly the Vanguard).
chrisblattman.comSaid 14 Mar 2014This on korrents
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Aid is not development: transfers can relieve poverty, but the work that actually lifts a country out of it is not work donors do.
Third, a cash transfer to help the poor build business is like aspirin to a flesh wound. It helps, but not for long.
chrisblattman.comSaid 27 Jun 2013This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 12 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Cash transfers are the index fund of development: the benchmark every actively managed aid programme should have to beat.
You can think of cash transfers like the index fund of development (making GiveDirectly the Vanguard).
Are cash transfers overrated? Said 14 Mar 2014
Judging aid programmes against each other on cost-effectiveness is the right standard, even when it counts against the programme you champion.
If it’s becoming standard to judge interventions by their cost effectiveness, then I can’t be more thrilled.
Are cash transfers overrated? Said 14 Mar 2014
Many aid programmes will beat cash on cost-effectiveness, and the ones that do will be those that fix a market failure or a supply problem.
There will be, I am confident, a great many interventions that do better than cash on any number of metrics. Ones that solve market failures or supply problems are big candidates, just like Starr and Hattendorf say.
Are cash transfers overrated? Said 14 Mar 2014
Show 9 more
Comparing randomised trials of cash against NGOs’ own claims for their programmes is not a fair comparison.
The evidence they cite in favor of cash points to peer reviewed randomized trials. The evidence on better performing programs point to… NGO home pages.
Are cash transfers overrated? Said 14 Mar 2014
Some aid programmes will beat cash at solving a specific problem, but few will beat it at simply making poor people less poor.
I’m more skeptical we’ll see better alternatives for pure poverty-alleviation, but we’ll see.
Are cash transfers overrated? Said 14 Mar 2014
Aid is not development: transfers can relieve poverty, but the work that actually lifts a country out of it is not work donors do.
Third, a cash transfer to help the poor build business is like aspirin to a flesh wound. It helps, but not for long.
Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thing Said 27 Jun 2013
The case for giving poor people cash is not that it is a cure, but that it is less bad than most of what aid already does.
It is not, “Cash transfers to the poor are a panacea.” More like, “They probably suck less than most of the other things we are doing.” This is not a high bar.
Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thing Said 27 Jun 2013
Cash helps a poor person whose only obstacle is a lack of capital, and does little for anyone whose obstacle is something else.
If a poor person is enterprising, and their main problem is insufficient capital, terrific. If that’s not their problem, throwing cash will not do much to help.
Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thing Said 27 Jun 2013
What keeps poor countries poor is political and economic instability, not a shortage of well-designed programmes.
The real problem is the absence of firms small and large to employ people productively. The root of the problem is political instability, economic uncertainty, and a country’s high cost structure, among other things. A government’s attention is properly on these bigger issues.
Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thing Said 27 Jun 2013
The most valuable thing a young development researcher could do is try to destroy the cash transfer movement.
If I were an enterprising young researcher looking for an idea and experiments that will prove powerful in five years, I would try to find the stake I can drive into the heart of the cash transfer movement.
Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thing Said 27 Jun 2013
A research paper that makes the newspapers will usually be shown wrong within a year.
My rule of thumb in this profession: “If the New York Times covers a research paper, the next year we will learn that it’s wrong”.
Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thing Said 27 Jun 2013
Watching a panacea get crushed by later studies is science working, not a reason for despair.
That is not depressing. That is science. We should welcome it.
Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thing Said 27 Jun 2013
Beliefs others hold too
Aid is not development: transfers can relieve poverty, but the work that actually lifts a country out of it is not work donors do. 2 hold this
Third, a cash transfer to help the poor build business is like aspirin to a flesh wound. It helps, but not for long.
Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thing Said 27 Jun 2013
What keeps poor countries poor is political and economic instability, not a shortage of well-designed programmes. 2 hold this
The real problem is the absence of firms small and large to employ people productively. The root of the problem is political instability, economic uncertainty, and a country’s high cost structure, among other things. A government’s attention is properly on these bigger issues.
Why cash transfers to the poor are not the next big thing Said 27 Jun 2013
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Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 8 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Loved In Service of the Republic
If you live in a liberal democracy anywhere in the world (including the United States) and you want to try to make your government function better, this is one of the top five books you can read.
chrisblattman.com 17 Jan 2022
Loved 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
If I had read this book before I entered grad school, I might have become an archaeologist. From the outside, archeology feels like a field where it’s hard to do pathbreaking work.
chrisblattman.com 17 Jan 2022
What others say about 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus →
Loved Taliban
It’s a great book. How the Taliban prosecuted the pre-2001 civil war is a great start to understanding why some of its leaders were unwilling to compromise with the United States.
chrisblattman.com 17 Jan 2022
Show 5 more
Loved Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
The Genghis Khan book was the next one to really satisfy. The leader and his troops arrived out of the desert and devastated the civilizations that had grown up, but laid the foundations for the next ones to grow.
chrisblattman.com 17 Jan 2022
What others say about Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World →
Loved Gods of the Upper Air: How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century
But now there is a fabulous non-fictional account of Mead and her unorthodox fieldwork, by Charles King. The subtitle is How a Circle of Renegade Anthropologists Reinvented Race, Sex, and Gender in the Twentieth Century.
chrisblattman.com 17 Jan 2022
Loved Violence, Nonviolence, and the Palestinian National Movement
But besides offering a new and different take, I read few better histories of the Palestinian movement.
chrisblattman.com 10 Jan 2022
What others say about Violence, Nonviolence, and the Palestinian National Movement →
Loved Convictions: A Prosecutor's Battles Against Mafia Killers, Drug Kingpins, and Enron Thieves
There are many other great lines, such as "Mafia families have one profound organizational weakness: no clear rules for succession." I wish more career professionals would write books like this, and write them this well.
chrisblattman.com 10 Jan 2022
Loved The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior
That’s why I was lucky to stumble upon Strathem’s book. It’s a tale of three figures: Leonardo da Vinci (the artist), Machiavelli (the philosopher) and Cesar Borgia (the warrior) and their intertwined lives. If you forgive the occasional episode of bad psychoanalysis, it’s a fabulous history book, and after reading it, The Prince is a wholly different book to read.
chrisblattman.com 10 Jan 2022
What others say about The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior →
Where they publish
Blog chrisblattman.com His blog on development economics, conflict and research. Has a feed.
Link verified 20 Sept 2026.
x.com @cblatts Posts.
Recent
- For those hiring predocs and other quantitative research assistants, how are you doing advanced tests and interviews in the age of AI? We used to do a mix of coding and statistical tests, followed by interviews, and are trying to evolve. If you want to DM me or email me directly, I'll share collected wisdom with everyone who contacts me with their ideas or best practices. 28 Oct 2026
- Now let's run the same experiment with managers and super capable employees. :) 27 Oct 2026
- This is why it’s a pleasure to teach @uchicago undergrads 17 Oct 2026
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- My bet is that the return to collecting original data, making the illegible legible, and studying clandestine and informal interactions is going way, way up. 8 Oct 2026
- Thoughtful and eloquent post that expresses my own intuitions more and better on AI risks. Nervousness=seriousness is the perfect label. 7 Oct 2026
- Delivery service to Colombian prison. You would think they could afford a nicer backpack. 6 Oct 2026
- I think I found a way to turn my Kindle books into audiobooks. Anyone found better options? I started using the Eleven Reader app, which lets you log into Kindle's website and read your books in a bunch of alternate voices. Way better than AWFUL native Kindle voice assist. 3 Oct 2026
Link verified 20 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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