Alcázar, L. (2010). The uses and abuses of social programmes: the case of conditional cash transfers. Bergen: CMI. U4 Brief, 3.

Conditional cash tranfer programmes are promoted as best practice in the social sector for fighting poverty. However, autonomy and discretion make them vulnerable to corruption when beneficiaries and programme officers falsify information to receive tranfers, or politicians use them to get votes. Consistent programme design aligned with clear criteria for targeting households, effective complaint mechanisms for users, and surveillance by civil society groups can reduce political clientelism.