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Should cash transfer programs be prioritized over job creation initiatives to alleviate poverty?
VinUniversity
Fundamentals of Academic Writing
Professor Nhu Dinh Ngoc Anh
Date of submission: 18/04/2025
745 words
Academic Integrity disclosure
🗹 I have read and understood the VinUniversity Student Academic Integrity Policy and declare that the content of this assignment is entirely my
own work. I have cited and referenced any ideas, information, language, or data which I have used to augment my original ideas, in accordance
with academic convention. I have not submitted this work in whole or in part for the assessment of another course or program at VinUniversity or
any other institution.
Generative AI disclosure
🗹 I have not used AI tools to generate or re-write large amounts of text in my work. If I have used AI tools in my writing process, I have
used them responsibly in accordance with the expectations set in the course. If I used any generative AI tools during the writing process, I
have summarized how I used them below (add/delete rows, if needed):
Which part(s) of the paper and
Tool Explanation of use
how much?
I used ChatGPT to understand how cash transfer programs can foster
The second paragraph of the
ChatGPT dependency on recipients through continuous support, but the evidence and the
essay
idea were found and interpreted by me.
I utilized ChatGPT again to clearly understand how job creation initiatives can
ensure a long-term economy by motivating people to enhance their skills and
ChatGPT The third paragraph of the essay
knowledge. However, the evidence and the idea were found and explained by
me.
Signed by: Dương Hiển Chí Kiên on 16/04/2025
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My essay:
Every year, billions are spent on cash transfer programs. However, many regions that receive
this support are still remaining stuck in poverty without any clear strategies forward.
Currently, many governments invest a significant amount of resources into these programs to
assist the poor, but such initiatives often fail to provide long-term solutions to alleviate
poverty. This essay will critically break down some specific limitations of cash transfer
initiatives and explain why leveraging employment generation programs is a more effective
approach for poverty alleviation.
First and foremost, financial aid programs have the potential to foster dependency among
recipients, which can significantly reduce their motivation to seek their own sustainable
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income sources. It is usually believed that money assistance programs can stimulate an
increase in the rate of people accessing public services such as education or health, which is
an ideal opportunity to turn their receptive knowledge into values that meet social needs. In a
study exploring the positive side of cash transfer programs, Soares et al. (2010) found that
there was a 3 higher percent in the rate of children attending school during and after the
Bolsa Família program - a social welfare program in Brazil. Moreover, the study also
indicated a “1.6 percentage point less” in the probability of children dropping out of school.
Overall, it is easily seen that recipients of monetary assistance programs are provided with
obvious opportunities to raise their skills and awareness to generate income independently.
However, a key point that should be taken into consideration is that the long-term provision
of welfare programs can foster reliance among recipients. According to Shepherd et al.
(2011), social assistance is able to undermine people‘s “self-sufficiency and motivation to
climb out of poverty through their own efforts”. Moreover, in the same research, the authors
also state that there is also a risk of people wasting financial aid on alcohol without using it
constructively. In addition, David J. Price and Jae Song (2018) - Professors at the University
of Toronto Department of Economics - argue that cash aid programs would discourage work
effort and result in welfare dependency. Consequently, despite the positive impact of cash
transfer programs in increasing the rate of children accessing education and healthcare
services, the issue of reliance on such initiatives still remains a concern that is worth
attention.
Another reason supporting the argument that job creation programs should be a priority in
mitigating poverty is that those initiatives can ensure long-term economic stability by
motivating individuals to enhance their professional skills and knowledge necessary for
securing sustainable income sources. Many people believe that financial aid programs can
provide immediate relief, which can prevent many families from the loss of urgent needs
such as food or money. Soares et al. (2010) argue that Bolsa Família program successfully
reduced poverty by 19% in the short term in Brazil. This indicates that money assistance
programs are able to alleviate poverty temporarily by providing essential emergency support
such as food, clothing, healthcare services, or education, which can still also aid many people
in approaching expert knowledge domain and ensuring a stable income source on their own.
However, it is often overlooked that while monetary assistance initiatives can offer short-
term poverty relief, job creation programs still play a more efficient role in encouraging
people to improve their specialized skills and knowledge, which might help them to gain
sustainable sources of income in the future without relying on the support from external
support. In a research conducted by Sundaram and Chowdhury (2011), the authors find that
employment generation initiatives can significantly create a big dent in poverty via increasing
average income by 22 percent over a 10-year period and even by 49 percent over 20 years.
Moreover, Adenutsi (2009) argues that job creation programs encourage individuals to make
valuable creations, which is the key point for sustainable financial health for each individual.
Accordingly, while cash transfer programs might offer poverty relief in the short term
through providing immediate support on urgent needs such as food or money, employment
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generation initiatives still play a crucial role in maintaining a stable economy and alleviating
poverty.
In evaluation, while cash transfer programs may offer temporary relief, those initiatives often
create dependency, whereas job creation programs might empower individuals by motivating
them to enhance their skills and secure stable income opportunities. This approach not only
addresses immediate financial needs but also helps communities to develop sustainable
income sources. Therefore, job creation should still be prioritized as the primary solution to
poverty alleviation.
References
Adenutsi, D. E. (2009). Entrepreneurship, job creation, income empowerment and poverty
reduction in low-income economies.
Price, D. J., & Song, J. (2018). The long-term effects of cash assistance. Industrial Relations
Section working paper, 621.
Shepherd, A., Wadugodapitiya, D., & Evans, A. (2011). Social assistance and the
'dependency syndrome'. Chronic Poverty Research Centre Policy Brief, (22).
Soares, F. V., Ribas, R. P., & Osório, R. G. (2010). Evaluating the impact of Brazil's Bolsa
Familia: Cash transfer programs in comparative perspective. Latin American Research
Review, 45(2), 173–190. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0023879100009390
Sundaram, J. K., & Chowdhury, A. (2011). Poor Poverty: The Impoverishment of
Analysis, Measurement and Policies (p. 240). Bloomsbury Academic.
