Mahreen Mahmud: “We’re All in This Together”: Addressing Poverty in Village Economies

Seminar
This event has now finished.
  • Date and time: Wednesday 19 March 2025, 1pm to 2pm
  • Location: In-person only
    A/EW105 (Alcuin East Wing)
  • Audience: Open to staff, students
  • Admission: Free admission, booking not required

Event details

Author: Mahreen Mahmud (Exeter)

Abstract:  Most anti-poverty programs have focused on targeting only the very poorest households. Can household welfare be improved with a universal program provided to everyone in a community? To answer this question, we conducted a clustered Randomized Control Trial of a universal graduation program across 335 villages in rural Uganda. The program we consider offers a package of support to every household in the community, including agricultural and livestock inputs and training, health, and entrepreneurship support over a 24-month period. We examine the effects of the program 3 years after its start with a sample of 4,000 randomly selected households. We find large positive effects of the programme, with average monthly household incomes increasing 40 USD PPP (25%), wealth increasing 410 USD PPP (32%) and monthly consumption increasing 60 USD PPP (10%). There are also large positive impacts on a range of social welfare measures, including physical and mental health, hunger and nutrition and community engagement. At a cost of only 321 USD 2023 PPP per household, consumption benefits exceed program costs in just over a year. This study shows that a universal graduation program is a cost-effective way to alleviate poverty.

Co-author: Emma Riley

Host: Tho Pham (York)