Positive News: informs, inspires, empowers
  • Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Volunteer
New Economy

Giving ca$h 
without any strings attached

Picture
After Mexico’s economic crisis in the mid-1990’s, Santiago Levy, a government economist, proposed getting rid of subsidies for milk, tortillas and other staples, and replacing them with a program that just gave money to the very poor, as long as they sent their children to school and took them for regular health checkups. 

Cabinet ministers worried that parents might use the money to buy alcohol and cigarettes rather than milk and tortillas, and that sending cash might lead to a rise in domestic violence as families fought over what to do with the money. 

So Levy commissioned studies that compared spending habits between the towns that received money and similar villages that didn’t. The results were promising; researchers found that children in the cash program called Oportunidades were more likely to stay in school, families were less likely to get sick and people ate a more healthful diet. The payments would almost always go to women who ensured that the money didn’t get spent on booze or cigarettes, many of whom even invested a chunk of what they received. Today, more than six million Mexican families get cash transfers.

Oportunidades has inspired dozens of countries worldwide.

More Information:
...........................
Posted April 2014
Picture

Picture
If you like this story, please consider taking out a donation-based subscription to support Positive News. 

Picture
Why Positive News? 
to Nurture Hope
to Exemplifies Solutions
to Inspire Action

to Celebrate Positive Change!

We envision a world in which people treat each other with respect and kindness, where we consider the Earth to be our home to care for and to enjoy. And we see that this world is in the process of emerging. Positive News is a reflection of this widespread movement and tells its powerful stories.

Picture
Picture
Picture

popular stories

  • Aluna: a message from the agents of the Earth
  • Trees communicate with each other
  • The dangerous things you should let your kid do

  • War has not existed for the majority of human history
  • Sharing news about solutions is a revolutionary act
  • A new movement frees  communities from corporate control
  • The happiest facts of all time
  • The man who planted a forest
  • Teens invent a pee-powered generator
  • Thousands are being freed of debt
  • New Leaders for a New Generation 
.    Planet     .
.     Peace    .
.    Youth     .
.       Art       .
People Power
.      Justice    .
.  Happiness .
New Economy
.  Generosity .
  • Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
  • Volunteer