ABSTRACT
Many poverty problems came about because countries failed to spend on safety nets and other poverty-reducing measures, failed to extend social security to the countryside, and failed to extend unemployment insurance to the informal sector. A conferee asked Judith Tendler if she could name one thing social funds did especially well. Tendler replied that social funds are often credited with getting the money out quickly. Social funds are often started in collaboration with blend of sector agencies, so some institutional links are already in place. Distance comes at the time of implementation. Evaluations of several funds showed the importance of social funds in places outside of Latin America. The data Andrea Cornia worked with showed that social expenditures in countries with social funds had not returned to precrisis levels. If a social fund were to provide them with clean water at the market price, poor people would be willing to pay for it.
