1　21世紀のアフリカの貧困　現金移転から社会連帯政策へ

抄録

Social cash transfer has been widespread during the last 15 years as an innovative tool for poverty alleviation. It was initiated in Latin American countries and replicated by Asian and, subsequently, African countries.

The theoretical underpinning of cash transfer is consumer sovereignty. According to this thesis, cash transfer can enhance the autonomy of the poor, provide them an opportunity for free and optimal choice, and enable them to influence the direction of the market and public services delivery. It can also reduce the transaction cost related to social actions and thus increase their efficiency. The risks considered most important by skeptics about cash transfer are the misuse of the money and dependency, which are derived from an assumption of the irrational behavior of beneficiaries. Other predictable risks that could deter consumer sovereignty are market deficiency, which can generate insufficiency or low-quality supply, and the weakness of governance, which can provoke corruption or defalcation. Latin American and African experiences show that cash transfer has positively affected the welfare of beneficiaries and that expected risks have been manifested on a negligible scale.

For the further development of cash transfer, the following agenda have been identified. First, cash transfer should be integrated into a national solidarity policy. Second, beneficiaries should play a central role in the entire process of the cash transfer program (designing, management, and monitoring). This can restrain the paternalistic domination of beneficiaries by the government or donors and help them fight against social exclusion. Third, the environment for consumer sovereignty should be improved by increasing the supply of goods and services needed by the poor in a competitive market, creating financial institutions accessible by the poor, and providing them the necessary information for optimal decision-making.