Who Should Get What, How, and Why? DfID and the Transnational Politics of Social Cash Transfers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Social cash transfers (SCTs) proliferated across much of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from the early 2000s (Garcia and Moore 2012; Bastiagli et al. 2016). ‘Social protection’, which was variously defined but always included SCTs,was endorsed by one after another of the international agencies and bilateral aid donors. The early front runner was the World Bank, whose enthusiasm forSCTs deepened, shifting in part from‘social safety nets ’to‘ conditional cash transfers’(CCTs). Towards the end of the 2000s, the International Labour Organization (ILO) assumed a leading role in global debate. Its need to reach out beyond formally employed workers led it to champion the expansion of coverage through ‘social protection floors’.